by Alanna Ketler, Collective Evolution

Since legalizing cannabis across the entire state, Colorado has seen some amazing profits. In 2016, the first state to legalize marijuana for medical as well as recreational use has sold nearly $1.1 billion worth of cannabis and related products. Wow.

Think about all that money that didn’t go to drug cartels and other various illegal dealers. And what about the tax? That is a lot of tax on $1 billion!

How Much Money Was Made From Taxes?

Colorado has three different kinds of taxes on its recreational cannabis sales: the standard 2.9% state tax, a 10% sales tax, and a 15% excise tax on wholesale transfers. In October alone, $6 billion was collected in excise tax off of a staggering $82.8 million in sales, bringing the yearly tax total to $49.7 million, well above the $40 million mark – a major point of discussion during the 2012’s Amendment 64 campaign.

by Arjun Walia, Collective Evolution

Multiple presidents and presidential candidates have commented on UFOs over the decades. It started when president Truman went on national television to say that they discuss this topic at every conference they have with the military, explaining that “there is always stuff like that going on.”

This topic has gained even more attention now that there are thousands upon thousands of declassified UFO documents within the public domain, not to mention hundreds of whistleblowers with verified backgrounds speaking out.

Just as Jimmy Kimmel did with both the Clintons as well as Obama, he has now asked George Bush the UFO question. Bush responds in a serious manner, and refuses to talk about anything he may know. Bush Senior has also been asked this question before, stating that he knows a “fair amount.”

by Alexa Erickson, Collective Evolution

It’s undeniable that the drug epidemic in America is out of control. But who is to blame, and how can we end it? There are various issues to look at concerning the war on drugs, but opioids remain a significant area of focus.

Doctors are undeniably overprescribing such drugs, and yet, when people find themselves addicted, their lives overturned and loved ones lost, they find themselves in a new form of addiction: incarceration. People in power find it all too easy to jail addicts, and yet many addicts find that it is their only avenue for dealing with their addiction.

But the prevalence of this problem is helping to instigate change more awareness about alternative options are out there. One police chief in Massachusetts thought a better option than the current model would be to actually help drug addicts instead of throwing them behind bars. And so the Angel Program came to be.

by Joe Martino, Collective Evolution

Is it algorithms? Or maybe censorship? Or do people just not care anymore? These are the questions going through many people’s minds as it becomes increasingly more difficult to stay informed in our world.

Facebook became the top source for driving news and information to people in 2015. According to Parse.ly’s chief technical officer, Andrew Montalenti, latest estimates show that social media sources (of which Facebook is by far the largest) accounted for about 43% of the traffic to the Parse.ly network of media sites, while Google accounted for just 38%.

Now you might also have been hearing how Facebook’s algorithm has changed and many publishers are now seeing a decline in traffic from Facebook. There are likely a number of reasons for this and we will get to them shortly.

by Alexa Erickson, Collective Evolution

When it comes to animal welfare, vegan leather is a big win, but its environmental impact has been heavily questioned, with many wondering which is worse for the planet — real or faux leather. Though every manufactured product comes with an environmental cost, there are many aspects involved in every phase of the production of both leather and faux leather that must be considered.

The meat and leather industries are incredibly connected, and it’s been well-documented that animal agriculture wreaks havoc on the environment. In fact, the UN reports that the industry creates 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than all transport emissions combined.