[Editor’s note: This post is excerpted from today’s NORML weekly media advisory.]
A revised budgetary analysis by the California State Board of Equalization (BOE) estimates that taxing and regulating the retail sale of cannabis by adults would raise approximately $1.4 billion in annual new state revenue.
The BOE’s estimate, released late yesterday, assesses a $50 per ounce tax on the retail sale of cannabis (among other state-imposed costs), as recommended under Assembly Bill 390: The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act. This act seeks to license and tax the commercial production, packaging, and retail sale of marijuana to those 21 years of age or older.
As introduced, AB 390 would not impose taxation or licensing requirements on the non-commercial production of cannabis (up to ten mature plants), or on the not-for-profit distribution of pot. Further, the bill would not alter existing legislation on the use of medicinal cannabis, nor would it impose new taxes or sanctions on the medical cultivation of cannabis.
According to the BOE’s revised calculations, the enactment of AB 390 would raise an estimate $990 million annually from the proposed $50 per ounce levy on retail sales of marijuana in addition to another $392 million in yearly sales tax revenues.
The BOE assessment did not assess whether the enactment of AB 390 would reduce existing law enforcement and prosecutorial costs, which have been estimated by California NORML to average some $200 million per year. In 2007, a record 74,000 Californians were charged with marijuana offenses – the largest total since the state ‘decriminalized’ the personal possession of small amounts of marijuana in 1976.
The BOE report acknowledged that legalizing pot for adults would likely result in a “substitution effect” where consumers gravitate toward the use of marijuana “and away from cigarettes and alcohol.”
According to a May 2009 California Field poll of 901 registered voters, 56 percent of Californians say that lawmakers should “legalize marijuana for recreational use and tax its proceeds.” Presently, the state is facing a $26 billion budget deficit.
Assembly Bill 390 is presently before the Assembly Committees on Public Safety and Health, which are expected to take up the issue early next year.
go cali. go cali.
That’s right folks, marijuana legalization will bring down: alcohol, tobacco – which will cause a HUGE drop in health problems and it’s associated costs in our society, big pharma – who only seek to profit by hooking people on their legalized poisons, prison industry – which is solely dependent on the incarceration of non-violent recreational drug users, drug testing industry – which accounts for 90%+ of profits from marijuana testing – and open up the doors to new industries with the absolutely most useful plant on the planet, HEMP. Don’t get me started with hemp b/c it has over 250,000 useful applications ranging from textile, to paper, to biodiesel fuel – which will end our addiction to fossil fuels – AND it helps rejuvenate soil…. the list goes on and on and on – which mean LEGALIZATION of marijuana will ultimately save this planet.
Oh and let’s not forget – Real scientific research can be done on marijuana which has been shown to be an anti-tumor suppressor and among other amazing things… Truly, it is a GIFT from God.
Oh wow, who knew?
Oh that’s right, everybody.
Alcohol decline? Yes. Tobacco? Not nearly as much.
Well, well, well, throw a little (or a lot) of money into the equation and now people are listening. This isn’t exactly the road that most of us would like our legalization issue to take but whatever gets the job done. I personally would like to see legalization come from a personal liberties standpoint, but raising tax revenue seems to be the only way to “raise eyebrows” when it comes to any form of Government.
The evidence says it all. The war on drugs does not work and costs tax payers billions of dollars a year. I agree there will be people who will miss use or over use Pot but those people are the ones who are using illegally today and would miss use or over use illegally anyway. It is time for the government to wake up and stop prohibition on Pot and let the recreation/casual users purchase and use without the worry of spending years in jail.
I like this bill. It would put the feds in the position of having to pursue every cannabis trifle to enforce their (federal) prohibition, for which they would be highly criticized for diverting resources from hard drugs and the Mexican border drug war area. California has potency standards for the cannabis consumers in place. Mexicans et al. should concentrate on sativa varieties that can’t be grown in the U.S.
The U.S. Attorney General, Holder, as head of the Justice department, should then in deference to California, as a matter of state’s rights, make the administrative decision to honor the will of the people of California by declaring the cannabis offenses to be the lowest priority, not even meriting a ticket.
If Congress is still unwilling to act, it stands to reason that other states will follow in California’s footsteps, and will legalize cannabis for medical and recreational purposes to get the revenue, too. The tax of $50 on an ounce is just under $2 a gram, and non-commercial and non-profit cannabis are not taxable. It would be a whole lot easier to compare prices to the rest of the world if they would stipulate the tax by gram, because anyone in the know realizes that in Amsterdam and elsewhere customers may purchase small quantities by the gram. $2 on top of whatever it costs to grow a gram of bud would pretty much be the price. Think about the math for a moment.
After other states legalize following California’s example, Congress will be in the perfect position to vote on legalization. They might as well. The longer they wait the less revenue to fix things.
Why can’t they take this on sooner? Oh yeah, giant budget deficit this might help.
But if they are talking about substitution effect, there is probably a concern over the loss of potential tax revenue from the reduction of the other sin taxes in place on tobacco and alcohol. I cannt find or tell if the 1.4 is an actualized number or not based on their assumptions here.
Is the 1.4 taking into account a decreased revenue stream from the other vice/sin taxes? It wont be as much as some people probably think it would be. The same restrictions from employers testing for cannabis and other social stigma will not have a huge increase in people “crossing over” anytime soon after passing something like this. Maybe once it was across the board in the US perhaps. But until then the large corporations are still going to test and punish for its use.
please lead the way to freedom.
California needs to implement a tax on medical marijuana establishments in order to avoid a tax loophole too.
~ Green Devil
Well no shit sherlocks. I cant believe there are still people shocked at the notion of profit from cannabis tax and sales. I been doin it off and on since 98. In fact ive come across lots of people who have made that house payment or bought that new water heater with civilian cannabis sales. Hell most of the nice electronics in my house are courtesy of a cheap QP from my mexican friend. Good people the world over have utilised sweet sister mary jane in times of hardship and if our government were either wise or good it would behoove them to do likewise.
yeah da do ya think. as an adult i think were going the right direction IT HAS NEVER KILLED NO ONE but cigarettes and ALCOHOL kill every day not to mention their ADDICTIVE AS HELL BUT YOU CAN GET THEM ON EVERY CORNER AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY!
Tax it! Regulate it! Create jobs and heavily bolster state revenue among the many other positive, ancillary effects!
Keep your hopes and heads held high for our country’s much needed changing, green climate.
This would be great!!! Here’s some food for thought. The present Medical Marijuana Bill in Congress started out with 13 co-sponsors on June 11th 2009—-by the end of June it climbed to 16 co-sponsors, Middle of July—> NOW!!! —> 24 co-sponsors!!! WOW!!!
Rep. Barney Frank [D-MA4]
Cosponsors [as of 2009-07-16]
Rep. Tammy Baldwin [D-WI2]
Rep. Earl Blumenauer [D-OR3]
Rep. Steve Cohen [D-TN9]
Rep. Peter DeFazio [D-OR4]
Rep. Keith Ellison [D-MN5]
Rep. Sam Farr [D-CA17]
Rep. Bob Filner [D-CA51]
Rep. Raul Grijalva [D-AZ7]
Rep. Maurice Hinchey [D-NY22]
Rep. Michael Honda [D-CA15]
Rep. Dennis Kucinich [D-OH10]
Rep. James McDermott [D-WA7]
Rep. James McGovern [D-MA3]
Rep. George Miller [D-CA7]
Rep. James Moran [D-VA8]
Rep. John Olver [D-MA1]
Rep. Ronald Paul [R-TX14]
Rep. Jared Polis [D-CO2]
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher [R-CA46]
Rep. Steven Rothman [D-NJ9]
Rep. Fortney Stark [D-CA13]
Rep. Michael Thompson [D-CA1]
Rep. Robert Wexler [D-FL19]
Rep. Lynn Woolsey [D-CA6]
Co-Sponsors from all over the Country!!!
From the West–Oregon,California,Washington,
From the East–Virginia,New Jersey,Massachusetts
From the North–Minnesota,Wisconsin,New York
From the South–Arizona,Texas,Florida
From Middle America–Ohio,Colorado,Tennessee
On story on this was in my local paper, in the deep south no less.
I wonder how much influence this tax board has over the legislature and governor. I wish we could wait untill after the 2010 elections to bring this to a vote. Force Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown to take more progressive stances on pot legalization. Even if it passes the legislature meraculously Arnie will veto it plus doesn’t the legislature need a 2/3rds majority for tax bills or something. Could some cali user explain that in more detail.
a very good law… pass it… legalize it… a win, win situation for all americans!! go ammiano go arnold let’s get america moving again…
Why us it going to take so long before the California Legislature will have a hearing on the bill? (added by Mobile using Mippin)
I quit drinking alcohol last year, and stopped chewing tobacco this year (7 months no chew baby!!!)
Straight up, I could of quit alcohol on my own, but after numerous failures trying to quit chewing, I decided that everytime I had a true, uncontrolable urge to chew, I’d just smoke some pot instead.
Sure, for a short time period my marijuana intake increased, but within 2 months, I was over the hard to beat chewing urges, and I backed off on my pot intake back to what I normally would consume.
But if for some reason I had to quit smoking pot today, I would just simply quit like any other time in my life, like a job I had for 3 years, never smoked because I was always being tested. Sure I missed smoking pot, but only because I enjoy it, not because I’m addicted to it.
Sooooooooo, whats the damn holdup, legalize this shit.
more importantly i would think people would gravitate away from using and/or abusing prescription drugs in addition to alcohol and tobacco.
@ #10 Delpart: With alcohol and tobacco usage going down, that means the HEALTH COSTS associated with the sick, dying, and dead due to alcohol and tobacco would also go down, which means LESS health care costs – less people getting sick – less people dying – more room for other illnesses/diseases/accidents/etc. Truly, the reduction health costs associated with the usage of alcohol and tobacco would more than make up the lost of the ‘sin’ tax revenue. Plus people will be much healthier and happier – I guarantee it.
okay, so the government is going to place a 50 dollar fee on top of the already street prices? Wake up California, unless you wanna make an OZ sell for 100 bucks, I wouldn’t pay 400 an OZ and THEN 50 bucks more, when I can just get it from a dealer for 400….get it? California is inflating the prices. The reason pot is 80-120 a quarter is because it’s illegal. Pot shouldn’t cost that much if it’s legal. God bless capitalism in that instance, which will lower costs. The Wal-Mart affect.
Wow. This bill truly could be one of the most historical bills, as such a move to legalization would definitely have an effect on CA, and then I would imagine a rapid ripple effect though the whole country. This bill will definitely revoltionlize the planet. As mentioned above the applications for hemp are quite extraordinary. I’m sure there will be negative after effects that will have to be dealt with, but hope is definitely on the horizon. CA is not the only state hurting. Illinois isnt too far behind the amount of debt. Lets hope that our elected leaders have the courage to do what is right, and to do what the public is demanding. Thanks to all of you who have sacrificed much to get us this far.
and don’t just celebrate contact the Public Safety commitee members as well as the Heatth Commitee members. Local politicans have a bigger ear to the individual voter then the federal politicans.
Public Safety:
Committee Members District Phone E-mail
Juan Arambula – Chair Ind-31 (916) 319-2031 Assemblymember.arambula@assembly.ca.gov
Curt Hagman – Vice Chair Rep-60 (916) 319-2060 Assemblymember.Hagman@assembly.ca.gov
Tom Ammiano Dem-13 (916) 319-2013 Assemblymember.Ammiano@assembly.ca.gov
Warren T. Furutani Dem-55 (916) 319-2055 Assemblymember.Furutani@assembly.ca.gov
Danny D. Gilmore Rep-30 (916) 319-2030 Assemblymember.Gilmore@assembly.ca.gov
Jerry Hill Dem-19 (916) 319-2019 Assemblymember.Hill@assembly.ca.gov
Fiona Ma Dem-12 (916) 319-2012 Assemblymember.Ma@assembly.ca.gov
Commitee on Health:
Committee Members District Phone E-mail
Dave Jones – Chair Dem-9 (916) 319-2009 Assemblymember.jones@assembly.ca.gov
Nathan Fletcher – Vice Chair Rep-75 (916) 319-2075 Assemblymember.Fletcher@assembly.ca.gov
Anthony Adams Rep-59 (916) 319-2059 Assemblymember.Adams@assembly.ca.gov
Tom Ammiano Dem-13 (916) 319-2013 Assemblymember.Ammiano@assembly.ca.gov
Marty Block Dem-78 (916) 319-2078 Assemblymember.Block@assembly.ca.gov
Wilmer Amina Carter Dem-62 (916) 319-2062 Assemblymember.Carter@assembly.ca.gov
Connie Conway Rep-34 (916) 319-2034 Assemblymember.Conway@assembly.ca.gov
Hector De La Torre Dem-50 (916) 319-2050 Assemblymember.DeLaTorre@assembly.ca.gov
Kevin de Leon Dem-45 (916) 319-2045 Assemblymember.deLeon@assembly.ca.gov
Bill Emmerson Rep-63 (916) 319-2063 Assemblymember.emmerson@assembly.ca.gov
Ted Gaines Rep-4 (916) 319-2004 Assemblymember.Gaines@assembly.ca.gov
Isadore Hall III Dem-52 (916) 319-2052 Assemblymember.Hall@assembly.ca.gov
Mary Hayashi Dem-18 (916) 319-2018 Assemblymember.Hayashi@assembly.ca.gov
Edward P. Hernandez Dem-57 (916) 319-2057 Assemblymember.Hernandez@assembly.ca.gov
Bonnie Lowenthal Dem-54 (916) 319-2054 Assemblymember.Lowenthal@assembly.ca.gov
Pedro Nava Dem-35 (916) 319-2035 Assemblymember.nava@assembly.ca.gov
V. Manuel Pérez Dem-80 (916) 319-2080 Assemblymember.Manuel.Perez@assembly.ca.gov
Mary Salas Dem-79 (916) 319-2079 Assemblymember.Salas@assembly.ca.gov
Audra Strickland Rep-37 (916) 319-2037 Assemblymember.strickland@assembly.ca.gov
$50 an ounce for taxes alone?? I hope this isn’t the case. I’d rather go to the backalley than give $50 to Uncle Sam for an ounce.
It’s hard for me to believe that marijuana legalized for personal use is going to change the habits of liquor and cigarette users. A couple of shots of liquor once or twice a month or even once a week breaks the boring stigma of constantly being high everyday. This may sound strange but I believe liquor sales will rise after POT has been legal for a short time. Guess we’ll see what happens in the near future!
i am moving to cali
hell yeah man legalize da herb!
But wait…if you act now, we’ll sweeten the deal (RIP BM)
Ok seriously…look deeper then just the Cannabis Taxes.
Just imagine how many people who enjoy and respect cannabis (1 – 2 Million) are going to visit just to enjoy a little legal weed.
While they are there…
Gonna buy some weed – Cannabis tax
Gonna need a place to stay – Hotel tax
Gonna need something to eat – Restaurant tax
Maybe get a beer – Liquor tax
Maybe get a pack of smokes – Tobacco tax
Rent a car & buy gas – Gasoline tax
Take in some tourist attractions – Entertainment tax
Not to mention the money that will be injected into the community….
1st state to legalize is going to see one heck of a cash flow injection from all the tourists
California’s legalization would def bring back Led Zeppelin’s going to california in a whole new meaning!We would all want to be there!
If that’s what it takes to get people on the bandwagon, then by all means spread this bloated, unrealistic figure, but Ammiano’s bill sucks and I hope it will be changed before it becomes law. The tax rate is way too high, and there are no provisions for regulating the product, only for regulating the distribution of it.
How about people get over the Drug War hysteria and just legalize marijuana with a modest, reasonable tax, and regulate the purity of the product instead of requiring armed guards during its production and distribution?
My full critique is at http://legalizationwiki.org, along with a proposal for a much better law which originated in Massahusetts.
Im From iowa i might have to move to Cali too
Politicians lag so far behind what the public wants.
Special interests… enough said. Marijuana prohibition is a lovely form of SOCIAL CONTROL. Keep the blacks down and in jail. Whitey who gets caught with marijuana will have his parents bail him out time and time again. BTW I’m white.
I know that when I have some herb, I feel much less like drinking. If someone is trying to quit a substance that is actually harmful, MJ has a therapeutic effect, it can help people trying to quit opiates.
DO A BARREL ROLL!!!
Will people pay anything over $50 an ounce for something anybody could grow on a windowsill? I don’t think so. If you can buy cannabis leaf and flower legally, then you could also buy seeds legally too. The price of seeds would go way down and you could probably get them at your local hardware store.
And the stuff circulates pretty easily. Once you could grow your own, people would be throwing away the stuff they couldn’t smoke. People would be passing the stuff around like too many zucchinis.
But the most important thing is that once legalized, the black market vanishes and the whole clandestine traffic out on the street and into the schools would be reduced to much more manageable levels. The whole sexy forbidden pleasure aspect of cannabis would evaporate. No more jail time means no more gang influence.
Few of you realize that the prices of course would drop, there for somewhat compensating for the $50 per ounce fee. And an ounce of marijuana is a lot of weed, so that’s only $12.50 of fees for a 1/4th, and only $6.25 for an 1/8th. Added to low prices that would decrease many fold due to legality, that’s still pretty cheap. It’s a win-win-win scenario. Less spending on the drug war, revenue, cheaper marijuana. And there are more and many more wins that I don’t have the time or space to mention, and I’m sure you all know them.
I’ve been skeptical of California getting away with controversial legislation ever since Proposition 8 passed (goddamn bigots), but seeing as how this has support on both sides of the isle, we may actually have a chance. But leave it to an old fart Conservative fucktard to block it down. Don’t celebrate yet, this is FAR from over. Although this is a tremendous step forward, ust take a grain of salt with this. Until the Govenator puts his pen on this bill and signs it, this isn’t over yet, and I won’t believe it.
LEGALIZE! Time to move forward!
@ #29: Rick Seymour, Tennessee Activist: Though it may not curb existing alcohol and tobacco users to a certain extent, with legalization and regulation comes education for the youth so that the youth will make an informed and educated decision when they do reach that point of recreational usage. I would suspect that zero deaths caused by marijuana along with its health benefits would deter users from using alcohol or tobacco. I would say the statistics of deaths caused by the latter two would alone be enough to convince them otherwise.
For the peace of mind to smoke legaly id pay $50 tax an ounce.
This is a big step and if/when it does become legalized and taxed in one state then if the govt. does not legalize and tax it nation wide other states should follow suit as that of the state which does then eventually their will be no other option but to listen to the people of this nation and do something on a nation wide level that is for the people . That is unless the officials want to get / remain in office. As for those who are not for legalization and taxation or at the least declassify it then I say lets show our numbers at voting time and not elect / re-elect them into office. 1 vote is nothing to them how ever 10,000 votes means the difference between winning or loosing the election.
Can we possibly get numbers on how much INDUSTRIAL HEMP can produce? That’s an argument I never hear. This is just from smokable marijuana. Imagine if we replaced petroleum with hemp!
50 bucks an ounce would be a small price to pay to keep our brothers and sisters out of jail. Competition would eventually even out the market. As it became more socially acceptable to use it for medical, new compounds and uses would be developed as research would not be stymied.
Wow! I’m starting to believe this can really happen.
Dude at #25:
80-120 a quarter! I hope your talking about some really good sativa or kush.Round here we can get some good cannabis for 25-30 a quarter. Maybe good homegrown but still..
Truth Will Prevail!
To me, it seems obvious that if people had a choice between equally legal pot or alcohol, they would largely choose pot. I forsee a major reduction in violence (domestic and otherwise) and a major increase in snack food sales
Re-legalizing cannabis for tax money? What about God’s will for people to live in freedom with liberty as acknowledged and cited in the Constitution of the United States? Is money more important than God? Sorry, I forgot. In America today, money is our God.
#21- I did the same thing to quit smoking cigarettes. I just replaced it with weed, and after about a year, I jst got tired of it. Of course I smoke weed again now but, I haven’t had cigarettes in years. I couldn’t smoke one if I wanted to, the smoke is far too harsh. I know others that have quit cigarettes the same way.
I foresee very unhappy fast food employees of this law gets passed in cali. I could care less cus it’ll also for the restaurants to hire more people. More jobs for everyone! Like I’ve always said, what could be wrong about hittin’ the ol’ bong with your best pals over a movie and a bag of tacos?
$50 per Z is a 10% growers tax. There will be more tax.
#41 adle1984,
Good point on the up coming generation’s choices we never had.
They need to hurry up with this bill.
In response to Yung Iowan, with respect –
$6.25 tax for an eighth sounds terrible. A pack of 20 cigs costs $6.25, with an already unreasonably high tax. And you only get 3-4 good cigs out of an eighth.
Remember, the Government works for YOU. You shouldn’t have to pay them money in order to pursue your own happiness.
Peace and love
Prohibition didn’t work with alcohol and it certainly isn’t working now with marijuana.
Time to legalize it!
DUH! Make it legal…I’ll have my 10 mature plants growing ASAP!
#34 Dale Says:
July 16th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
If that’s what it takes to get people on the bandwagon, then by all means spread this bloated, unrealistic figure, but Ammiano’s bill sucks and I hope it will be changed before it becomes law. The tax rate is way too high, and there are no provisions for regulating the product, only for regulating the distribution of it.
How about people get over the Drug War hysteria and just legalize marijuana with a modest, reasonable tax, and regulate the purity of the product instead of requiring armed guards during its production and distribution?
My full critique is at http://legalizationwiki.org, along with a proposal for a much better law which originated in Massahusetts.
RE:
Thanks for link to legalizationwiki.
– With exception to the overly-excessive,
threefold to fivefold of AB390’s ‘modest’ $50 / oz tax-rate,
I’ve always favored the Massachusetts legalization proposals for
more clearly defining product-purity,
(And especially,
the provision allowing lawsuits against
suppliers / distributors / retailers for
adulterating / diluting cannabis!),
retail-distribution systems and
cannabinoid-percentage grading / labeling.
And…
for NON-COMMERCIAL personal-grow exemption,
patterned after home-brewing exemptions to alcohol license-fees / taxes.
keep it rollin’ californiaaaaaa.
we wish you guys the best of luck in Texas
peace and love peace and love
While I don’t really like the people of California. (They are extremely rude to military personnel) If this passes it would be a tremendous step forward. I nevered tried pot until recently and now am a full beliver in medical cannabis. I suffer from debilitating insomnia and am considering trying an occasional hit to help me sleep. Any suggestions?
I agree with jeremy #42. Id gladly pay tax to smoke legally. 50? Shiiiiit Oz’s are 120 here anyway and if u get caught in Kansas…sayonara. Sure its easy for those of you out there to say ah to hell with that ill go to my dealer where its cheaper. But for those of us who have to live in towns where the pots not only expensive it can go dry for as long as a month sometimes. And with jai looming overhead…no id rejoice a persecution free smokin habit.
$50 an ounce tax is ok if it helps get mj legalized and taxed but their are other ways other than $50 an ounce tax which can make taxing mj easy. What they propose is like saying for an example you buy a pack of cigs which is around $6 a pack then by adding a $50 tax which means it would cost around $56 for a pack if you get the idea. Now say for example they legalize and tax mj by a pack of
10 and charge for that pack $25 then add a $20 tax on the pack it would be $45 for that simple pack which I believe
many of people who want to use mj and have it taxed would be most likely willing to pay. Why? It is simple (1) it under cuts the cartels price and (2) It can be a reasonable way to manage and tax mj. This was only an example but I think every one gets the point.
Firstly number 61 not all people from cali are rude. I got two friens over there thatd giv ya the shirt off their backs. Second, yeah heres a suggestion stop being scurred and hesitant and toke up. Youll sleep great
I just need to know when to plan my 2-week long vacation to Cali.
Matter of fact dont wait HIT THAT SHIT SOLDIER!!!!!! Its perfectly safe. If you knew the FULL truth about pot youd been smokin long ago. All the propaganda about it is sad. Its a HEALER of minds bodys and souls. Friends all drinkin=violence Friends all Tokin= Bonding, friendship, strength, and munchies. NOW DROP AND GIVE ME 20 PUFFS
Ive done alot of other real drugs. Meth, coke, acid, X, and even americas favorite booze are WAY harsher. Pots like iced tea or somthin like that in comparison. Theyd have you belive pots from the devil. HA! Its so harmless. The drugs listed above avoid at all costs. The devil pukes and shits em all into exsistence
I recently emailed the very conservative Rep. Scott Garrett and received a surprising response:
Dear Mr. ______:
Knowing of your interests regarding the legalization of medicinal marijuana, I would like to take the opportunity to update you on this very important issue.
As I am sure you are aware, the mention of medical marijuana is absent from our United States Constitution. Therefore, as the 10th amendment dictates, I believe that each state has the power to enact its own medical marijuana laws. While I am opposed to illegal drug use, including marijuana, I hope that each state decides for itself whether or not to prohibit the use of drugs for potential medical reasons. So far, 13 states have passed medical marijuana initiatives, but the U.S. Department of Justice continues to enforce federal law regarding Schedule I substances, including marijuana.
Since the commencement of the 111th Congress, several bills have been introduced addressing the issue of legalizing medically prescribed marijuana. Congressman Barney Frank (MA-4) introduced H.R. 2943, the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009. If enacted, this legislation would amend the Controlled Substance Act to eliminate federal criminal penalties for personal possession of marijuana when not in excess of 3.5 oz. In addition to this legislation, Congressman Frank has also introduced H.R. 2835, the Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act. This bill aims to clear the judicial discrepancies between federal law and the state laws that have enacted regulations governing the therapeutic use of marijuana. H.R. 2835 would make medically prescribed marijuana permissible under federal law. Both H.R. 2835 and H.R. 2943 have been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for further consideration.
While I am not a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, you will be pleased to know that during the 110th Congress, I was supportive of Representative Maurice Hinchey’s (NY-22) amendment to H.R. 3039, the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008. This amendment prohibited the use of federal funds for the purpose of preventing states from implementing their own state laws that authorized the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana. Unfortunately, this amendment failed by a vote of 165-262.
Please know that your views are important to me and as legislation dealing with marijuana issues comes before the House of Representatives, I will consider it with your thoughts in mind.
Even the most conservative politicians are starting to come around! Garrett previously was an opponent of the reform movement, however now he seems to be supportive of this initiative because of his philosophy of keeping the government out of private affairs. This should be a wake up call to those who are represented by prohibitionists that if we keep the pressure on, eventually they will cave to truth and reason.
Keep emailing and calling your representatives until prohibition is over!
The $50 tax WILL NOT be added on top of the current street prices. Marijuana does not cost very much to produce. The reason street prices are as high as they are is because it is illegal and the risk of producing, possessing, and selling is high. If it were legalized it would probably cost the same or less then it does on the street today.
Do some research people!
WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA
$50.OO PER OUNCE IS A GROWER’S TAX. It’s a 10% tax.
$6.25 per eighth is a more like 20%.
Legalization of cultivation…won’t get any creedance
until next year, most likely, but creedance it will get…patience folks. The wheels of the Gods are slow, but they grind very fine.
This reminds me of an old comic book called the Fabulous Furry Freak brothers. I used to have a poster that Quoted Franklin Freak as saying “Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope”. I think this still rings true today more than ever. If California does lift cannabis prohibition and the feds leave them alone they will see the lions share (a windfall) of the market. It would resemble Las Vegas before the rest of the country allowed gambling.
NO, To TAXES, due to the reasoning that, once under their control it WILL be UNDER THEIR CONTROL, and that’s why I don’t want them to have ANYTHING to do with CANNABIS, whatsoever!!! “GOD” GAVE THIS, “PLANT”, TO ME, TO USE AS I SEE FIT!!! END OF STORY! PEACE!!! AL….
You see, This would be, TRUE FREEDOM, As I stated previously. “KEEP YOUR DIRTY HAND’S””OFF” “MY CANNABIS”. “YOU” “DAMN” “DIRTY” “APE”!!. Money is all you want, then you can PRINT all you WANT. Just leave “ME” and “MY CANNABIS” OUT, Of your greedy little mind’s. NO PEACE!!! AL…
It’s probably a lot more $$$. Just considering it’s a black market.
http://iblowminds.com/
To be honest, it’ll be pretty easy to circumvent the $50/ounce tax by just growing your own.
O.K. Cultivation is covered (certified-licensed growers). Now! what about distribution? My guess is government operated dispensaries. It will all be about “CONTROL.”
i agree with justin #61 i suffer from insomnia have not slept in over a week. my guy has been out so i cant sleep until tonite thank god. i live in upsate ny. i have been arressted for a roach and a pipe before they threw so many charges was not even high. if mj was legal the police can save so much time and money on us people that use it and they can just make it illegal to grow or sell without a license. they can still go after the big people that kill or rob people for mj and let us people that have to be afraid everytime we buy some. and many i would loveto pay the price you guys get mj for and 1/8 around here is 40 or 50 if you know someone you can get it cheaper i got some AK47 couple weeks ago cost me $30 a gram.
This is a move in the right direction, especially with the right included to home grow without taxes or other interference. It will be fascinating to watch what happens to retail prices as legalization takes hold. If tobacco can be so abundant that it sells for $12-15 and ounce (if 2 packs = 1 ounce) with all taxes included, it’s not out of the question for cannabis to eventually be equally abundant and inexpensive. Just because we’re used to paying outrageous black market prices relative to the cost of growing and distributing the plant, that doesn’t mean that the legal product must remain as expensive. I predict that a few years after legalization, good quality cannabis will retail for $10-20/ounce, all taxes included. Certain premium strains will be more expensive.
don’t need the extra tax money or jobs, rather just imprison everybody for a smokeable substance that not only has countless medicinal benefits, is not lethal, and generally makes things more enjoyable.
There’s a few things that the public may, or may not be aware of or understand. The first is the costs involved in cultivation. It ain’t cheap. Next is the price for the substance (female flower). It’s pretty much a $20.00 per gram standard for medical grade…in the street and in the dispensary.
Home grown=non-taxable.
Qualified Patients=non-taxable.
Growers=10% tax.
If you consider the tax rate on any retail product…10% ain’t that bad.
#78 Bradson Says:
July 18th, 2009 at 7:22 am
“…If tobacco can be so abundant that it
sells for $12-15 and ounce (if 2 packs = 1 ounce)
with all taxes included, it’s not out of the question
for cannabis to eventually be equally abundant and inexpensive.
Just because we’re used to paying outrageous black market prices
relative to the cost of growing and distributing the plant,
that doesn’t mean that the legal product must remain as expensive….”
RE:
Bradson,
– This ought to be told to every prohibitionist
sheriff and DA in the country. On a recent NPR radio program,
a certain sheriff kept spouting the fallacious-argument that ‘taxed,
retail pot wouldn’t reduce the underground, illegal-market, nor affect the cartels,
because the retail-product would be $50 more-expensive…’
(Ignoring the fact that cannabis isn’t THAT expensive to grow, that
presently excessive street-prices are the ‘risk-premium’
charged, solely due to its illegality…)
Legalizing pot faces serious political obstacles. Taxation on the other hand, is easy.
For those who endorse legalizing pot so as to tax it to help ease California’s budget problems, that’s a cop out. Take responsibility for yourself and voluntarily pay the tax you owe. It’s that simple.
Californian’s that smoke dope illegally, simply declare your illegal pot purchases on your annual tax return. Multiply the dollar amount you contributed to the other side of the War on Drugs by your local tax rate then add it to your tax liability. Having done your part to ease California’s budget crisis, you will be able to sleep better at night without adding costs to the state for managing all the the negative effects of legalizing yet another social poison.
Come to think of it this would work for cocaine, meth, extasy, LSD and even heroin. Remember though, California is broke so be honest about the amount of illegal drugs you buy. Every dollar you report spending on illegal drugs helps a crime syndicate, some where in the world, kill, mutilate and torture but more importantly, it will also keep teachers in barrio schools, doctors and nurses in trauma centers and rehab centers staffed with social workers. But then hey, the end justifies the means, right?
As for legalizing pot to tax it, we don’t need more unnecessary laws we just need to enforce the laws already on the books.
Pot is already taxed in California. Like every other state California has both a sales and a use tax. Retailers collect sales tax; we all understand and accept that. When the seller does not collect sales tax, the buyer is obligated by law to report and pay the tax. In these circumstances it’s called a use tax.
So when illegal drug users buy dope and don’t pay either a sales or a use tax they are not only contributing to death and violence such as is going on in Mexico right now, they are also cheating California out of tax revenues it needs to keep doctors, nurses, teachers, police, firefighters, park rangers and tax collectors on the job.
Potheads, join ranks with medicinal pot users who already pay sales tax. Illegal drug users don’t need spineless politicians in Sacramento endorsing drug use to pay the tax they owe. Just declare your usage on your tax return and pay voluntarily.
Dopers should take a page from the Gay & Lesbian community and come out of the closet. Exert your right to pay sales tax! If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for the kids.
Response I got from Governor Schwarzeneggers office:
“Thank you for contacting Governor Schwarzenegger about marijuana in our state. The Governor values hearing from fellow Californians about the issues that are important to them.
While the Governor does not support legalizing marijuana to generate revenue, he does think there should be an open dialog on the issue of legalization. He believes we should look at other governments and analyze their experiences with legalizing marijuana, weigh the benefits and problems they’ve encountered and determine if and how those experiences would apply to California.
Once again, the Governor appreciates your input on this very delicate issue.
Sincerely,
Rosemary Rawlins
Office of Constituent Affairs”
Arnold
This is California…we make dust…we don’t eat dust.
“Lead” the way. “I’ll be back!”
I was in a “famous” fast food restaraunt the other day, and ordered one of their “famous” hamberger combos. It came to $5.00. I had to use my ATM card. The attendant said that there would be a $1.00 charge for the use of my ATM card. That’s a 20% use charge. That’s 10% more than the $50.00 per Z tax. Needles to say…I wasn’t very happy…but…I imagine “Happy” was happy. Just think about it…a 10% growers tax ain’t that bad in comparrison. The fact that we’ve gotten this far is a monumental achievement.
wow, tobacoo, alcohol, & big pharma are shaking in their boots!!
cannabis & hemp will be legalized and there won’t be nearly as much use of the other big three that kill so many humans yearly.
those wise ones that choose to consume cannabis & hemp will live long and healthy lives. stop the WAR ON THESE 2 PLANTS NOW.
The Federal TAX on cigarettes is $1.01 a PACK.
The Proposed STATE tax of $50.00 an OUNCE seems a little high to me.
In the long run They need to set the tax rate correctly or they will not sell any Marijuana. The Black market will remain strong. Priced correctly say .05 a gram is more like it.
The problem is that these numbers do not help solve the states money issues as much as they would like.
Think about it they sell this deal to the state and the tax rate will be set WAY TOO HIGH. Provisions need to be placed in the bill allowing for the reduction of the tax rate.
I see this as both a positive and negative situation. Legalizing Marijuana based upon a VERY HIGH Tax rate is dangerous. Not legalizing the stuff continues a very dangerous precedent.
You have to assume that commercial packaging, standardization, labeling, marketing, Growing, sales, all provide income to everybody involved. How do you regulate it? Like Utah and alcohol? State marijuana shops?
How do you tax edible products? What about concentrates? Will these be legal too?
I reckon that Phillip Morris and all major tobacco companies are ready to go with production and marketing. They would love a new product to go into as they move away from tobacco. Imagine going from UNPOPULAR to extremely popular over night. from major supplier of tobacco products to major high quality Marijuana producer….
In the end I see BIG tobacco being as big as BIG Booze and big BEER. Maybe bigger.
YMF
#88, JHC, yes you’ve nailed it. $50.00 an ounce is way to high to attract any buyers which would be the point if taxation is an appeal. But tobacco is a little different from cannabis. Processing tobacco is a little more complicated then cannabis. All you really have to do is pull cannabis and dry it. Tobacco needs to be cured to be any good. And I’d like to see the tobacco companies list the ingredients on the side instead of the warnings. And what about those warnings? Shouldn’t we see some kind of warnings on the sides of commercially packaged cannabis, like “Don’t operate heavy machnery under the influence of cannabis.”
I wonder if the tobacco producers and growers would be all that excited about cannabis. I think the real wild card in the issue is the growers for fiber and seed. Once they are free to grow the old fashioned cannabis, they are bound to ask themselves if they want to get into the flower and leaf business.
HI,
i have lurking around these forums for a while now. I now have my questions to ask and contrubutioons to make.
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