…and of course we aren’t talking about photosynthesis. No sooner did we pronounce pot more or less dead as source of political debate — having eclipsed itself with its own prominent place in the public till — than CBS News reaffirmed the point. And, boy howdy, just look at how prominently it figures into little Edgewater’s budget:

Legalized recreational and medical pot in Colorado hit $1.3 billion in sales last year. In the state, good pot business is turning out to be good news for budget-strapped cities and even college kids. In the small Denver suburb of Edgewater, there are six pot shops, drawing big business from nearby cities that opted not to allow marijuana sales, reports CBS News correspondent Barry Petersen.

The town of 5,300 is generating $1.4 million in sales tax revenue from pot. That’s 20 percent of its annual budget. Money for repaving 12 miles of streets and the old city hall will soon be replaced by a new $10 million complex that will include a police station and library to be finished by 2018.

A fifth of the entire city budget? Wow. From taboo, to cash crop — to sacred cow.

Here was our favorite part of the report:

“Does anybody ever jump up and say, ‘it’s great to have all that money but it’s kind of sin city? It’s a drug operation paying for all of this?’” Petersen said.

“I would say there’s probably a few people in town that feel that way but it’s not commonly discussed,” city manager HJ Stalf said.

Indeed not.