Pueblo County expands its cannabis-funded scholarships with eye on having high school graduates enroll at local colleges.

Pueblo County has set aside around $750,000 in college scholarships for high school seniors, and all of that funding came from marijuana excise taxes.

From small towns that barely dot the map to the state’s largest urban areas, revenue from retail marijuana sales is helping communities address homelessness, send children to college, patch potholes, secure water rights and fund an array of projects.

Those running retail marijuana dispensaries or cultivation facilities want to be taken seriously, and many have taken it upon themselves to find ways to engage in their communities.

DENVER — Colorado pot smokers are helping send 25 students to college, the first scholarships in the U.S. funded with taxes on legal marijuana.