Pubdate: Mon, 14 Jun 2010
Source: Daily Californian, The (UC Berkeley, CA Edu)
Copyright: 2010 The Daily Californian
Contact:  http://www.dailycal.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/597
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

ROLL IT DOWN

City Affairs: A plan to impose city taxes  on marijuana goes too far 
in capitalizing on  tantalizing potential streams of tax revenue.

This November, a ballot measure to legalize, tax and  regulate 
marijuana will come before California's  voters. If passed, adults 
statewide will be able to  legally roll up a joint and smoke it for 
recreational  purposes. Berkeley's reputation for being a haven for 
marijuana consumers could become one the rest of the  state would share.

Politicians, eager to find the new revenue streams  needed to 
maintain services in this economic climate,  are quickly exploring 
ways to turn marijuana into easy  tax money for their respective 
jurisdictions. We certainly cannot fault them for this.

However, we are concerned about Berkeley Mayor Tom  Bates' plan to 
impose a 2.5 percent city tax on  medicinal marijuana and a 10 
percent city tax on  recreational marijuana, if it is legalized in November.

Medicinal marijuana, legalized statewide by Proposition  215, is 
already subject to a state sales tax. This is  in contrast to 
conventional prescription drugs, an  inconsistency which we find 
troubling. A 2.5 percent  tax is higher than Oakland's 1.8 percent 
tax level, a  reduction to which would be a reasonable compromise.

Moreover, Mayor Bates' proposal for a 10 percent  recreational 
marijuana tax is excessive. Part of the  rationale for legalizing 
marijuana is to reduce the  violent drug cartel crime associated with 
the illegal  trafficking of the product.

However, Bates' proposed tax, when combined with state  sales and 
excise taxes, threatens to make the cost of  the legal product high 
enough to allow the drug cartels  to maintain their stake in the 
trade. A lower tax, for  the narrower purpose of funding the 
regulation of the  legalized product, would be a much more reasonable 
idea. Of course, it would make sense for the  recreational marijuana 
tax to exceed the medicinal  cannabis tax.

While we have not yet decided whether to support  legalizing 
marijuana, we recognize the tax revenue it  would bring is one of the 
most attractive benefits of  the idea. However, we urge politicians 
to proceed here  with caution and restraint.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom