Colorado is gearing up to officially tax and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, a move lawmakers say amounts to legal recognition of a growing industry.

The state Attorney General John Suthers concluded in an opinion issued Monday that medical marijuana is considered personal property that can be taxed and shouldn't be treated like prescription drugs, which are tax exempt.

The move would make Colorado the latest provincial government to tax marijuana for medical use, after voters in California adopted a similar program when the use was legalized in 1996. Cities such as Denver and Oakland, Calif., also plan to levy municipal taxes on local cannabis dispensaries.

Colorado Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, said he plans to introduce legislation in January that would require dispensaries to buy licenses, as well as pay the state's 2.9 percent sales tax. He estimates the state could collect up to $15 million a year on the sales, and communities could collect an additional $45 million a year through city and county taxes.

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