Mexican police guard a crime scene near the beach resort of Mazatlan, where 19 suspected drug cartel members died in clashes with police on July 1. On Wednesday, cartel violence claimed 26 more lives in neighboring Chihuahua state. Mexican police guard a crime scene near the beach resort of Mazatlan, where 19 suspected drug cartel members died in clashes with police on July 1. On Wednesday, cartel violence claimed 26 more lives in neighboring Chihuahua state. (Mario Rivera Alvarado / Associated Press) [continues 755 words]
They arrived -- by the hundreds, on foot, in party buses and Uber rides -- at a strip mall marijuana dispensary, and the merchandise started flying off the shelf: Snake Eyes OG, double chocolate chunk brownie bites. "What we're experiencing right here and now is history," Ross Goodman, co-owner of Las Vegas ReLeaf, said early Saturday as he stood behind a glass counter at the pot shop watching staff shuffle patrons in and out. "This is the future and we're a part of ending prohibition." [continues 366 words]
Government-sanctioned and supported "supervised injection centers," where addicts can bring their illicitly obtained drugs and shoot up with little fear of arrest or a fatal overdose, have been in service in Europe for decades. There's only one in all of North America, though. It's in Canada -- a Vancouver, Canada, center called Insite. Research found that after the center opened in 2003 fatal drug overdoses decreased by 35% in the nearby community. Earlier this month Canadian officials authorized injection centers in Montreal, Toronto and other cities. [continues 688 words]
A U.S. Border Patrol agent pleaded guilty Thursday to smuggling backpacks he believed contained drugs across the border. Appearing in a federal courtroom in San Diego, Noe Lopez pleaded guilty to attempted distribution of methamphetamine and attempted distribution of cocaine. He faces a possible minimum sentence of 10 years for each of the two counts and a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 8 before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw. Lopez, a 10-year Border Patrol veteran who worked out of the Imperial Beach station, was arrested Dec. 14 as a result of a two-month undercover sting. [continues 213 words]
Citing an epidemic of opioid overdose deaths across the country, state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Friday that California is joining with more than 26 other states to investigate whether drugmakers have used illegal marketing and sales practices. Becerra said the probe would focus on whether drug manufacturers have played a role in creating or extending the opioid problem. Makers of opioids have been under heat in recent years as the addiction crisis has intensified. A 2016 Times investigation revealed that Purdue Pharma, which manufactures OxyContin, knew its drug's painkilling effects might not last as long as long as marketed, which could potentially promote addiction. The investigation also found Purdue Pharma collected extensive evidence of criminal trafficking of its drug but in many cases did not alert law enforcement. [continues 81 words]
The opioid epidemic continues to devastate Americans, and a new report shows that it has only gotten worse in recent years. In 2014, abuse of prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and street drugs such as heroin sent users to hospitals at record rates. That is true in emergency rooms, and even more true in rooms for patients who have been admitted to the hospital. The report, released Tuesday by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, reveals that the rate of emergency room visits resulting from problems with opioids roughly doubled over a decade. Inpatient stays also grew, by 64%. [continues 808 words]
The state has put out new rules for testing marijuana planned for medical use. With businesses expected to get state licenses in January to sell marijuana in California, the top regulator said Thursday that they will be given up to six months to comply with a requirement the pot be thoroughly tested by a licensed laboratory. State pot czar Lori Ajax said it may take months for enough testing labs to be properly screened and licensed to handle the supply of marijuana expected to be sold in California starting next year. In addition, many existing medical marijuana dispensaries will have untested supplies when licensing begins, she said. [continues 168 words]
In the early 1930s, the federal government cracked down on California's legal drug programs, leading to numerous arrests. Above, a California jail in 1930, occupying the third floor of Ventura City Hall. In the early 1930s, the federal government cracked down on California's legal drug programs, leading to numerous arrests. Above, a California jail in 1930, occupying the third floor of Ventura City Hall. (Los Angeles Times) For one bright and flickering moment last year, it looked like the global war on drugs was about to die. California -- the sixth largest economy in the world -- voted to fully legalize cannabis, while a smorgasbord of countries including Uruguay, Canada and Jamaica were also moving toward more sensible policies. But like Freddie Krueger after the nubile teenagers believe he is finally slain, the drug war is suddenly back with even sharper claws. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions is reviving the worst of the old policies that led to mass incarceration, while President Trump has said that the Philippines is doing "a great job" on the drug war under a President, Rodriguo Duterte, who publicly boasts: "There's 3 million drug addicts. There are. I'd be happy to slaughter them." [continues 966 words]
[photo] Tim Scully, left, and Nick Sand pictured in a graphic from the documentary "The Sunshine Makers." (Nick Sand / Tim Scully / Passion Pictures / FilmRise) As its title suggests, "The Sunshine Makers" is probably the happiest, most carefree drug documentary you're likely to see. The film explores the people behind the most well-known strain of LSD, who produced millions of doses in a single, sleep-deprived month. Their goal wasn't money, but instead they wanted to save the world: If everyone took LSD, they would experience the feelings of love and connectedness the hallucinogen promises. [continues 169 words]
[photo] A bottle of Oxycontin pills. (Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times) A Washington city devastated by black-market OxyContin filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against the painkillers' manufacturer Thursday, alleging the company turned a blind eye to criminal trafficking of its pills to "reap large and obscene profits" and demanding it foot the bill for widespread opioid addiction in the community. The suit by Everett, a city of 100,000 north of Seattle, was prompted by a Times investigation last year. The newspaper revealed that drugmaker Purdue Pharma had extensive evidence pointing to illegal trafficking across the nation, but in many cases, did not share it with law enforcement or cut off the flow of pills. [continues 1125 words]
[photo] A cross-border drug smugglers' tunnel that had been shut down but left unfilled on the Mexican side was found to be back in operation in December, officials said. (Mexico attorney general's office / Associated Press) Mexican drug cartels have burrowed dozens of tunnels in the last decade, outfitted them with rail and cart systems to whisk drugs under the U.S. border and, after being discovered by authorities, abandoned them. But some of the illicit passageways live on. At least six previously discovered border tunnels have been reactivated by Mexican trafficking groups in recent years, exposing a recurring large-scale smuggling threat, according to U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials. [continues 1017 words]
[photo] At a roadside restaurant outside Kabul, Gula Jan, far left, sells hashish to a wide array of clients. (Sultan Faizy / For The Times) Gula Jan ground a small amount of hashish, about the size of a marble, in his hand. He mixed it with tobacco and carefully rolled it into a cigarette. Then he smiled. "Do you know how many people come and smoke hash here?" he said. "Thousands!" The 34-year-old counts parliamentarians, government officials, doctors, engineers and businessmen among his clients. They all stop by his usual spot on a river bend 45 miles outside Kabul for a taste of his specialty. [continues 660 words]
Newport Beach Police Chief Jon Lewis, seen in this file photo, says Prop. 64, which legalized recreational marijuana possession and use for adults 21 and older in California, will make for "an interesting year" in Newport. (File photo) Marijuana dispensaries and growing and delivery remain illegal in Newport Beach, but residents can smoke it in their homes under California law. The possible effects of the statewide legalization of recreational marijuana use, which voters approved in November, were the focus of discussion Wednesday night at a Speak Up Newport event where Police Chief Jon Lewis and City Attorney Aaron Harp answered questions in front of more than 50 Newport Beach residents and officials. [continues 430 words]
Researchers combed through more than 10,000 scientific studies to examine the various health effects of marijuana use. More than 22 million Americans use some form of marijuana each month, and it's now approved for medicinal or recreational use in 28 states plus the District of Columbia. Nationwide, legal sales of the drug reached an estimated $7.1 billion last year. Yet for all its ubiquity, a comprehensive new report says the precise health effects of marijuana on those who use it remain something of a mystery -- and the federal government continues to erect major barriers to research that would provide much-needed answers. [continues 1123 words]
Hi is a cannabis brand. Its logo -- "hi" in white letters inside an orange circle -- can be found above the front door of a Portland, Ore., marijuana shop and on a handful of cannabis products, including massage oil and Hi Releaf pain-relief balm. But you wouldn't guess any of that from Hi's trademark filings. In 2015, the brand's parent company, Cannabis Sativa Inc., filed a trademark application -- not for any of Hi's core products, but for hats, T-shirts and a wide array of other apparel. [continues 1251 words]
A pot bust against legal growers in Yolo County seems to go too far If ever you needed proof that we live in an age of confusion about marijuana laws, let me share with you the story of Ted Hicks and Ryan Mears, two Sacramento-area entrepreneurs who decided to start a legal medical cannabis business last year and ended up on the business end of assault rifles wielded by officers from a multi-agency, anti-drug task force. I first heard about the case from Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor in September, at a "State of Marijuana" conference aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Saylor, who was on a panel discussing how cities and counties were dealing with cannabis regulation, said that Hicks and Mears and their business, Big Red Farms, were considered by county officials to be "shining stars" in the cannabis licensing arena. [continues 1201 words]
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a tough-talking populist who took office in June, has earned international condemnation for ordering or encouraging thousands of extrajudicial killings intended to rid the country of illegal drugs and bragging about personally having killed people. But at home, he remains extremely popular, with approval ratings topping 60%, and firmly in command, with his supporters controlling Congress, the courts and the police and military. His detractors have found some hope in an unlikely figure: the vice president. [continues 1430 words]
Los Angeles residents awoke Sunday morning to see that one thing, at least, looked different in the New Year: the Hollywood sign. Photos shared on social media showed the iconic sign modified to read, "HOLLYWeeD." Security footage taken around midnight Saturday showed a "lone individual" climbing up Mount Lee, scaling the sign using the built-in ladders and hanging tarpaulins over the sign's O's to change them to E's, said Sgt. Guy Juneau of the LAPD's Security Services division. [continues 89 words]
Two state legislators say Californians might think it's illegal to smoke marijuana while driving, but that there's no specific ban on the practice in state law. Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) and Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) said Thursday that they'll introduce legislation to close what they call a loophole. The lawmakers said Proposition 64, the state's new law legalizing marijuana, allows a citation for having an open container of marijuana in a vehicle. But, they said, it doesn't expressly ban the use of the drug while driving. [continues 63 words]
Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times [photo] Andrew Modlin, left, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Adam Bierman, co-founder and chief executive, inside MedMen cannabis dispensary in West Hollywood. One inspiration for the shop was the Apple store. Andrew Modlin, left, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Adam Bierman, co-founder and chief executive, inside MedMen cannabis dispensary in West Hollywood. One inspiration for the shop was the Apple store. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) On a bustling stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard lined by vintage stores and eateries, the MedMen shop looks right at home. [continues 1575 words]
Californians may have voted overwhelmingly on Nov. 8 to legalize marijuana, but Americans also elected Donald Trump, whose position on legalization has been a bit -- hazy. That's a potential problem because marijuana is regulated under federal law, giving Trump and his administration veto power over whether California and the seven other states that have voted to legalize cannabis can really do so. So where does the president-elect stand on pot? He has said he supports individuals' right to use medical marijuana "100%," which is good news for the 29 states that allow medicinal use of pot. As for adult recreational use, which Californians approved through Proposition 64, it's hard to say what he believes because his statements have been all over the map, shifting from audience to audience. [continues 667 words]
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks at a military ceremony in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks at a military ceremony in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines. (Bullit Marquez / Associated Press) He has compared himself to Hitler, called President Obama a "son of a whore," and overseen a wave of extrajudicial violence that has left thousands of people dead. Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines' 71-year-old president -- a former city mayor with a level gaze and an aura of casual dishevelment -- passed his 100th day in office Oct. 8, and despite his profanity and repeated calls to violence, he is the country's most popular leader in recent memory. [continues 1174 words]
At 4:50 a.m., the stragglers dashed through Manila's darkened streets, hoping for a spot in the pews. But they were too late. Hundreds of worshipers had already packed the Sto. Nino de Paz Community Greenbelt Chapel, a low, white dome in a sprawling outdoor shopping complex, for Friday's Simbang Gabi Christmas Mass. So at least 100 more crowded on the pavement outside, singing "Glory to God" beneath a crisp crescent moon. Christmas in the Philippines is a long, spirited and, to many, exhausting affair. About 90% of Filipinos are Christian, and they take the holiday seriously. Stores start playing Christmas music as early as September and don't stop until early January. Christmas trees spring up in malls and public parks. Carolers go door to door singing "Jingle Bells," "Silent Night" and "Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit", a lively Tagalog tune celebrating Jesus' birth. The holiday delicacy is lechon - -- whole suckling pig, a Filipino delicacy. [continues 868 words]
Lynwood officials move toward allowing commercial cannabis production. Lynwood officials last week took a step toward allowing businesses to grow medical marijuana within city limits. If the measure gains final passage, the city of 70,000 would be among the first in Los Angeles County to issue such permits. On a 3-1 vote, the City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would amend the zoning code to permit commercial cannabis producers to cultivate and manufacture marijuana in industrial areas. [continues 294 words]
After multiple failed attempts over the course of a century, Proposition 64, which legalizes the recreational use of marijuana, passed with a 56 percent vote in California on Nov. 9. Proposition 64 legalizes the recreational use of marijuana; anyone 21 and older can possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow a maximum of six marijuana plants at home. The proposition can also potentially reduce sentences as well as clearing criminal records of prisoners that have been convicted of felonies related to the possession and consumption of marijuana. [continues 543 words]
L.A. Substance-Abuse Prevention Specialist Works to Limit Pot Availability Among Young People. When I wrote on Friday that pot use can have a serious downside for some teenagers, I hardly expected to be accused of embracing an archaic, alarmist "Reefer Madness" point of view. "Are you paid by an anti-marijuana faction?" asked one reader. "You should be ashamed." I'm sure I've done a lot of things that I should be ashamed of, but raising questions about the effects of marijuana on developing brains is not one of them. [continues 894 words]
As Voters Ponder Prop. 64, Experts Cite the Effects Pot Can Have on Young Users. SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - Devan Fuentes made it all the way through San Clemente High School without drinking or using drugs. He vividly remembers the first time he smoked pot. He was visiting a friend at Occidental College, and decided the moment had come. "They brought out a giant three-foot bong," Fuentes told me the other day in a rustic coffee shop tucked into this town's historic Los Rios neighborhood. "I heard a lot of people don't get high their first time, so I held it in for a long time, one large hit. Immediately, I couldn't feel my legs." [continues 1001 words]
A Bill Headed to Brown's Desk Would Give Shops a Six-Month Grace Period to Pay $106 Million in Taxes. SACRAMENTO - Estimating that two-thirds of the medical marijuana stores in California have failed to pay sales taxes, state officials on Tuesday took a carrot-and-stick approach to persuade pot shops to pay the $106 million owed. With the state preparing to license medical marijuana shops in 2018, the Assembly sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill Tuesday that would establish a tax amnesty program to help bring scofflaws into compliance with the law. [continues 487 words]
The town hall meeting, in a cavernous garage on an industrial side street in Gardena, was billed as an opportunity to learn about cannabis from some of the industry's experts. I assumed there would be strong arguments made in favor of Proposition 64, the November ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. But it hardly seemed necessary. From what I could tell, most of those in the room were already on board. Some had recently started businesses or were contemplating how to get a piece of what assuredly is going to be a huge economic pie if Proposition 64 passes. [continues 872 words]
As Secure As San Quentin Seems, Contraband Slips In SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - Condemned murderer Michael Jones was acting strangely and profusely sweating when guards escorted him in chains to the San Quentin medical unit that doubles as the psych ward on death row. "Doggone, I don't think you're ever going to see me again," he told a fellow inmate, Clifton Perry. Hours later, Jones was dead. Toxicology tests later found that he had toxic levels of methamphetamine in his blood. [continues 1388 words]
Many Glowing Remarks Come From the Same Ip Address, a Software Flaw Shows. Millions of consumers treat Weedmaps like the Yelp for pot, relying on the Irvine company as their definitive guide to marijuana dispensaries, varieties and doctors. But a key feature - user reviews of pot businesses - may be tainted by thousands of potentially fraudulent comments, a flaw in the company's software revealed. Reviews on the site are pseudonymous, and visitors reasonably expect that each is written by a unique customer. But data that Weedmaps mistakenly leaked suggests that a large proportion of glowing remarks come from individual users leaving multiple reviews of a single business. [continues 1094 words]
In 1987, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America aired a public service announcement that went on to become a classic of modern pop culture. It likened an egg to "your brain" and a hot pan to "drugs." The egg was then fried in the pan, and the viewer was informed that "this is your brain on drugs." The ad concluded: "Any questions?" Presumably this was meant to be rhetorical, but now the ad is back in a revamped form, which includes children asking questions about drugs. "Mom, Dad, did you ever try drugs?" asks one child. [continues 687 words]
Californians first threatened to legalize recreational marijuana by ballot initiative in 1972. It failed 66% to 33%. We tried again in 2010. It was voted down 53% to 46%. Now we're back at it. This time, though Proposition 64 looks like a sure thing. Polls show support for legalization in general at 55%, and 60% among likely voters. What's so different this time around? Yes, demographics and attitudes have shifted here, like everywhere. But you also have to understand what went wrong back in 2010. At the time, California - the state that pioneered pot for the people - seemed poised to become the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, but the cause was unexpectedly hurt by the state's convoluted history with medical marijuana. [continues 724 words]
A Statewide Ballot Measure on Adult Recreational Use Is Complicated - and Highly Likely to Pass. SACRAMENTO - I know you've been distracted/disgusted/gobsmacked by the presidential campaign all summer. But history, polling and common sense tell us that California's electoral votes already belong to Hillary Clinton (sorry, Donald Trump fans). So stop wasting time worrying about that, Golden State types, and turn your attention to the doorstop of a ballot that you'll be facing when you vote Nov. 8. [continues 1094 words]
A federal appeals court gave medical marijuana advocates what seemed like a big win this week with a unanimous ruling that the federal government may not prosecute people who grow and distribute medicinal cannabis if they comply with state laws. The decision affirms a mandate from Congress, which barred the U.S. Department of Justice in 2014 and 2015 from bringing cases against legitimate pot shops in states that have medical marijuana laws. It makes clear that if operators are meticulously following the rules, they shouldn't have to worry about the feds coming after them. [continues 514 words]
Feds Can't Prosecute Them If They Follow State Law, Court Rules. A U.S. appeals court decided unanimously Tuesday that the federal government may not prosecute people who grow and distribute medical marijuana if they comply with state laws. Congress in the last two years has banned the federal government from spending money in ways that would thwart state medical marijuana laws. The U.S. Justice Department contended the ban did not undermine its right to prosecute growers and distributors under federal law, even in states where medical cannabis was legal. [continues 456 words]
Growers will be able to apply for licenses, expanding potential for medical research. WASHINGTON - The federal government is ending its decades-old monopoly on marijuana production for medical research as the Drug Enforcement Administration announced Thursday it was bowing to changing times. The agency said it would begin allowing researchers and drug companies to use pot grown in places other than its well-secured facility at the University of Mississippi. But the agency did not make the bigger plunge toward marijuana legalization that many lawmakers have been advocating. It passed on a proposal to remove cannabis from the federal government's most dangerous category of narcotics. The drug continues to be classified as more dangerous than cocaine. [continues 814 words]
The federal government has for years employed a bizarre circular logic when it comes to marijuana. Officially deemed to have a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical application, marijuana is listed by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act - on a par with heroin and LSD. Yet that very listing has severely limited the research that could settle the question of whether marijuana does indeed have therapeutic value, as attested to by countless glaucoma sufferers, nauseated cancer patients and a raft of other ailing people and their physicians who report anecdotally that marijuana eases suffering. [continues 317 words]
Compromise Boosts Support for Measure to Protect Poor Residents SACRAMENTO - Major law enforcement groups and state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) have reached a deal on legislation to limit the ability of police in California to permanently seize cars, cash, homes and other property from suspected criminals without a conviction, potentially paving the way for California to join the growing list of states that have reined in the practice. Known as civil asset forfeiture, the tactic began in earnest as a response to the drug war in the 1980s, allowing law enforcement to fund their anti-narcotics operations by taking drug dealers' property. [continues 428 words]
State Initiative Draws Fire for Opening Door to TV Commercials. Nearly a half-century after tobacco ads were kicked off television in the United States, an initiative in California would take a first step toward allowing TV commercials that promote a different kind of smoking - marijuana. Proposition 64, which is on the November ballot, would allow people 21 and older to possess and use up to an ounce of marijuana and would allow pot shops to sell cannabis for recreational use. [continues 1118 words]
Coalition Will Use Big Portion of $2 Million to Target California's Ballot Measure to Legalize Cannabis. SACRAMENTO - Facing well-financed campaigns to legalize recreational pot, a national coalition that includes former Rep. Patrick Kennedy has raised more than $2 million to fight initiatives in five states this year, including a November ballot measure in California. The money is being put up by the political arm of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-legalization group founded by Kennedy; David Frum, a senior editor of the Atlantic; and Kevin Sabet, a former drug policy advisor to the Obama administration. [continues 574 words]
Marijuana Growers Will Compete for Blue Ribbons in Oregon, Another Indicator of Cannabis' Booming Reputation As Cash Crop SEATTLE - To the list of breakthroughs in an ever-changing world where cars drive themselves, faces are surgically transplanted and Russian hackers are accused of manipulating the U.S. presidential campaign, add this development: marijuana growers can now compete for blue ribbons in the state fair. That's what Oregon officials say will happen at their fair in Salem next month. Besides tastiest apple pie and plumpest pig, pot will be judged for its finer attributes, including color, aroma, leaf structure and lack of pests. [continues 381 words]
Just weeks after putting the measure before voters Nov. 8, supervisors backtrack amid pushback. November's ballot will be crowded with tax initiatives, but a Los Angeles County proposal to fund efforts on homelessness with a tax on marijuana won't be one of them. County supervisors voted Tuesday to pull back an initiative they had previously approved for the ballot, which would have placed a 10% tax on gross receipts of marijuana businesses, with the money to be used for housing and services for the homeless. [continues 822 words]
L.A. supervisors appear poised to nix measure that would help pay for homeless housing and services. Less than two weeks after voting to pursue a tax on marijuana businesses to help pay for housing and health services for the homeless, Los Angeles County supervisors appear poised to pull the measure from the November ballot. County officials debated several potential tax measures to fund expanded efforts to reduce homelessness in the county, including a "millionaires tax" on high-income earners, a sales tax and a property tax, but those proposals ran into roadblocks or failed to get the needed level of support on the board. [continues 714 words]
As Californians consider whether to legalize recreational marijuana use, a few entrepreneurs are already casting their vote in favor of the state's cannabis industry. The group, called Canopy San Diego, is accepting applications for its pot-themed technology accelerator, a first for Southern California. The concept is to find and fund early-stage companies with ideas that can assist the state's dispensaries and growers. That could include topics as diverse as water conservation tools, more optimal packaging, payroll software and analytics. [continues 642 words]
Re "L.A. County putting pot tax on ballot," July 13 Before any taxes are collected from pot dispensaries, banking services must be made available to marijuana businesses. L.A. County Treasurer-Tax Collector Joseph Kelly's suggestion to hire armored trucks to collect millions of dollars in cash is rife with opportunity for unaccountability, corruption and extortion. Also, a portion of marijuana sales tax revenue should be used to fund additional personnel at the Department of Public Health to test product samples for potency and pesticides or other chemicals; for the county's Weights and Measures Bureau to check scales for accuracy; and for dispensary personnel to be trained and certified, equivalent to a bartender license. Janis Purins Los Angeles [end]
Re "L.A. County putting pot tax on ballot," July 13 Since the county wants a 10% tax on "medical" and recreational marijuana and related products, then why aren't all prescription and over-the-counter medications also being included? A 10% tax on the gross receipts of the big pharmaceutical companies and retailers would produce a hell of a lot more revenue than just taxing companies that produce and distribute marijuana and "related" products. Jim Skladany San Bernardino [end]
Re "L.A. County putting pot tax on ballot," July 13 The biggest problem with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor's ballot initiative to tax marijuana businesses to help pay for homeless services is that this very small amount of funding would only be available in two years if the voters pass Proposition 64 in November and legalize recreational pot use. Using history as a guide, an increase of 12% in the homeless population over two years would translate to more than 5,000 additional homeless people in that time. Given that about 30% of people experiencing homelessness are former foster youth, such a significant increase would be unconscionable. [continues 71 words]
L.A. County's Latest Plan - to Slap a Levy on Marijuana Sales - Comes With Several Drawbacks. Running out of time and options to raise money to address the homelessness crisis, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors turned Tuesday to a new funding source: weed. The supervisors agreed to seek voters' approval in November for a gross receipts tax of up to 10% on marijuana businesses. But it's far from clear that marijuana could - or should - be the pot of gold that county leaders are hoping for. [continues 594 words]
10% Levy on Marijuana Businesses Would Go to Housing and Services for the Homeless. Los Angeles County voters will decide this fall whether to tax marijuana businesses to help pay for housing and health services for the homeless. The ballot measure, approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, seeks to take a potentially significant new source of government revenue, from marijuana sales, and use it to address one of the region's oldest and most intractable problems. L.A.'s homeless population has been rising in recent years, and the proposed pot tax is part of a larger effort by city and county officials to finally put significantly more money behind easing the problems. [continues 954 words]
