A group of Adelanto High School students were recipients of the first cannabis-related scholarship program in California.
Adelanto Mayor Gabriel Reyes and city council recently announced the winners of the 2024 City of Adelanto Green Futures Cannabis Scholarship Program, which included:
City leaders said the Green Futures Cannabis Scholarship Program is “an investment” in the city’s future.
“The scholarship funds, disbursed directly to educational institutions, aim to alleviate financial burdens and support students in pursuing higher education,” City Manager Jessie Flores said. “It is an honor for the city to support these remarkable students in their pursuit of higher learning.”
Mayor Reyes commended Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Ramos for initiating the program, marking it as the first cannabis-related scholarship program in California.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have such a robust cannabis industry that is not only supportive of our local schools and youths’ future but also contributes significantly to our community’s well-being,” Mayor Pro Tem Ramos said.
Colorado’s Pueblo County was “the genius behind” the scholarship program, according to Ramos.
In 2017, Scholarships.com reported that Colorado’s $1.3 billion marijuana industry is tackling the $1.3 trillion national student debt crisis by using its tax revenue to help fund college-bound students.
Pueblo County was reported to be the first to use cannabis-funded college scholarships for education funding, money that once “fueled criminal empires,” the article stated.
The cannabis-funded college scholarship program includes every qualifying student in Pueblo County to receive about $1,000 for college for attendance at either Pueblo Community College or Colorado State University-Pueblo.
The remaining funds would be given to students based on merit and need.
“It is so critically important to make college affordable for our youth if we want to provide long-term economic opportunity to our community,” the Pueblo County Commissioner’s office stated. “Too many kids can’t afford to go to college, with this program we are taking cannabis tax revenue and using it to provide a brighter future in Pueblo.”
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
