Can I get an update on the Legislature? They seem to be hella busy lately. - Eric
You are correct. The Legislature has been working hella hard to get a bunch of bills out of suspense. A bill being held “in suspense”? They make it sounds so… suspenseful. Anyway, there were a bunch of bills about marijuana in the suspense file – meaning they have a chance to resurface for approval. Which bills lived and died? I have a list:
• AB 1575 is known as a “cleanup” bill. The idea is to fix a few things from the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA).
• AB 2516 creates a new state license, known as a “Type 1C” or “specialty cottage” license, which will allow growers to cultivate 2,500 square feet or less of total canopy size for mixed-light cultivation, up to 25 plants for outdoor cultivation, or 500 square feet or less of total canopy size for indoor cultivation.
• AB 2243: More taxes. This one is on cannabis distributors.
• SB 987: Even more taxes, 15 percent this time – on everything.
• AB 2740 will not be going to the ball this year. It which would have made it illegal for anyone to drive with any amount of THC in their bloodstream. It’s a good thing this bill failed, because studies have shown that stoned drivers are rarely a huge risk, and throwing people in jail for having THC in their system defeats the whole purpose of marijuana legalization.
A final closing thought: I like AB 1575 and AB 2516, but the two tax bills need to go away. There is no reason to start imposing taxes before the BuMMR (Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation) has even figured out what the market will bear. Keep in mind that medical marijuana users already pay state sales tax and that many cities already impose an extra tax on top of that. Considering the fact that marijuana is the only medicine people have to pay taxes on anyway, it seems like legislators are trying to kill the goose before it even starts to lay eggs. Marijuana made about $50 million dollars in taxes last year, and that’s just from the clubs that paid taxes. (Many don’t, because they don’t want to invite federal attention.) I expect the new BuMMR regulations will lead to increased revenue, especially as towns that used to be against medical cannabis start allowing cultivators and dispensaries.
(1) comment
The taxing of marijuana is like sharks in a feeding frenzy. --- There is some justification for extra taxes on alcohol and tobacco. Because they both have great harms, they bring huge societal costs which the taxes, at least partially, compensate for. - Since marijuana has no significant harms, there is no societal cost and so, no justification for extra taxes. --- It's sad, but extra taxes on marijuana are just a bribe for officials to do the right thing and end the insane war on consumers. - It should be discouraged. It will just make it harder to reduce the black-market.
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