Californians say 'no' to legal pot but 'yes' to pot taxes LATimes / November 3, 2010 California voters did not buy the argument that marijuana should be legalized and controlled like alcohol, but many agreed that it should be taxed like it. Voters in 10 cities around the state on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed local measures to tax sales of medical and recreational pot. Supporters of Proposition 19, the measure to legalize marijuana, had hoped the lure of new tax revenue in the midst of a severe economic crisis would appeal to voters. It did, but not enough to persuade them to back the controversial initiative. But proponents interpreted the thumbs-up on recreational pot taxes as an indicator of growing voter support for legalization. "We largely won the debate because they are ready to tax, control and regulate," said Dale Sky Jones, a spokesman for the campaign to pass the initiative. Voters in several cities also demonstrated that most Californians are comfortable with marijuana used for medical reasons and sold at storefront dispensaries. In Santa Barbara and Morro Bay, voters rejected bans on pot stores, while in Berkeley voters by a large margin approved a plan to allow six commercial marijuana factories in the city's industrial zone. With Proposition 19 failing, 54% to 46%, the 10 cities will not be able to approve recreational marijuana and tax it, but most will join Oakland in imposing taxes on medical marijuana sold in dispensaries. Long Beach had proposed the highest tax on legal marijuana at 15%, but several other cities had proposed 10% levies. Last year, Oakland became the first city in the state to adopt a tax on medical marijuana. Voters passed it 80% to 20%, and other cities took notice. On Tuesday, Oakland voted to raise its tax on the sales of medical marijuana to 5%. With Oakland's four dispensaries on track to sell pot worth $40 million this year, city officials estimate that the new tax will bring in $2 million. In addition to Oakland and Long Beach, the California cities that approved pot tax measures were: Albany, Berkeley, La Puente, Rancho Cordova, Richmond, Sacramento, Stockton and San Jose.
so prop 19 didn't pass and patients are gonna have to pay more for their medicine? nice.. cali very lucky cooley isn't your next AG
the dispensaries themselves will be taxed, so they will trickle down the extra cost to their patients, shows how compassionate they really are about their "patients"
In the words of Antoine Dodson, "you are soo dumb".(Replace you with they) The more I think about prohibition the more I just wanna donkey punch some politicians.
QFT i sometimes have thoughts of slaying down every politician in the country. All are just about their own personal gains.. Noone cares about "The People" unless it benefits them. I just dont understand, we live one time (who knows if theres an after life) and yet you are forced to go to school, forced to get a job, forced to do this or that. i dont see how a government can directly control us when they are based on the foundation of "Freedom" /rant
Honeslty I'm surprised MMJ wasn't being taxed already. Most everything you purchase is taxed, food, tools, clothes, toys, medicine. MMJ is medicine why should it avoid being taxed. To be honest i think them taxing it is a good thing, if they're making 2 million dollars from a year of MMJ aloneit would push more areas to consider adopting MMJ or completely legal but taxed marijuana.
You are not forced to do those things. You just have to do them if you want money and a "normal" life. So really it's culture that is forcing you to get a job and all those other things, the government has little to do with the fact that the people of the country would rather hire someone who went to school and spent years trying to become good at something rather then the person who didn't Also, how does the government force us to get jobs? What forces you to get a job is the fact that you want a roof over your head, food in your stomach and weed in your bong. I'm not saying that the government is perfect, I have a few issues however to say that they control us in those aspects of life are ridiculous. You have the free will to choose not to get a job, you can choose not to go to school. The reason you don't is because you don't want to be homeless. I swear people be coming up with some bullshit. My mother is probably one of the worst i know of. She's very very right wing. Fanatic right wing. I don't know if her bi-polar or alcoholism play into her theories but she swears up and down that "those god damn dems are working with obama and his muslims to take over america." And now they're forcing us to go to school and get jobs and force us to "do this or that". That's just life. If you don't like it get the fuck over. You can't blame the government for all of your problems /rant
I'd rather pay fucking tax on my weed for recreational use than paying $20-$30 an 1/8th at the dispensaries. Source: Myself who has a MMJ card. Honestly to get a MMJ card you have to be a liar. Most people who get their cards don't have real ailments, like myself but believe marijuana should be for ALL. Only until a time where all the people see what I see.
I think this is a good thing Maybe not, but if they're taxing it, hopefully dispensaries will see that they need more customers to make more money, not higher prices.
well now that 19 is said and done with you guys should turn your attention to the attorney general race if you live in california, cooley is a bad bad man
too close to call, 9000 vote difference with a lot of provisional ballots and shit to be counted still, her lead has been dwindling since yesterday I heard numbers like 38000, then 14000, now only 9000
Trickling down expenses is smart business 101. That really has nothing to do with compassion. By comparison, Toyota isn't going to be "compassionate" about their prices when their next model comes out. Neither is any other car manufacturer. That being said, you dispensary owners that voted no on Prop 19, enjoy your new taxes. They could have been a LOT less had you all helped make it legal for everyone. Good luck with your next "random" DEA raid too. Hope it was worth it.
I read your entire post, but I just wanted to point out that this could happen with or without prop 19 passing >.>
yeah hopefully, but you know the feds they dont give a fuck they'll just throw the supremacy clause in her face and shit if they really wanted to
See this is what all you idiots get for saying prop 19 is a bad thing. Now you idiots will have to pay even more money for a dried up plant =)
So?... With taxation comes benefits. I believe if it does happen to get taxed, people will be more likely to support it in the next election for actually seeing how much tax can be made from a plant.