Medical Marijuana: California's Booming Market Offers Substantial Tax Revenues, Report Finds
Medical marijuana is a billion dollar a year business in California, according to a new report, and the state's bottom line could improve dramatically if it were taxed like other herbal medicines. The report, "Revenue and Taxes from Oakland's Cannabis Economy," was prepared for that city's Measure Z Oversight Committee by California NORML head Dale Gieringer and and Oakland Civil Liberties Alliance board member Richard Lee.
While the report focused on Oakland, which has seen medical marijuana revenues and the taxes derived from them decline dramatically since the city tightened regulations on dispensaries in recent years, it also looked at state and federal data to attempt to draw a state-wide picture of the size of the therapeutic cannabis industry. According to the data, the state's medical marijuana patients are currently consuming somewhere between $870 million and $2 billion worth of weed a year. That would translate to somewhere between $70 million and $120 million in state sales tax revenues, the authors estimated.
But currently, the state treasury is receiving nowhere near that because many dispensaries do not pay sales taxes or keep financial records that could be used against them in a federal investigation. Other dispensaries and patient groups argue that nonprofit collectives and co-ops should be exempt from taxes.
The study estimated the number of California medical marijuana patients at between 150,000 and 350,000. There is no firm figure, because unlike many other medical marijuana states, there is no comprehensive, statewide registry of patients. Those patients each smoke about a pound of pot a year.
Medical marijuana patients account for about 10% of California marijuana users, the study found, suggesting that tax revenues from a legal recreational marijuana market would skyrocket into the low billions of dollars each year. The state is currently spending about $160 million a year to arrest, prosecute, and imprison marijuana offenders, and not collecting any tax revenue from recreational sales.
State officials have a fiduciary responsibility to the citizens they represent. This report makes clear just how miserably California officials are shirking that responsibility.
digg
redditNo Tax!
Comment posted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/05/2007 - 9:13pmI agree,
I can barly afford my medicin as it is, taxing it would mean I get less, hurt more, work less, and make less $... a steady downfall if you ask me!
-=^..^=-
people medicate more than 1.2 grams per day
Comment posted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/31/2007 - 7:58pmMost patients purchase more than one LB. per yr. Non profit corporations should be taxed, Most club owners own more than one club, and many are making high six and over seven figure incomes .Doctors are also making a fortune charging $150-300 A YEAR PER PERSON CASH ONLY.Prop.215 was not created so Dr's,Growers and club owners could get rich. Bottom line laws need to be changed, legalization and taxation, rather than wasting millions persecuting and prosecuting As it stands patients pay more in a club than on the street.Club owners buying new houses,cars and watches , they mark up their shit 100-1000% &tell me how commpassionate they are.A patient in central coast
think about the clubs
Comment posted by Anonymous on Thu, 05/24/2007 - 1:32pmYou are quick to jump at the clubs blaming them for price gouging for marking up their prices but did you know that federal law still says it is illegal? This is common knowledge, i know, which is why it frustrates me when people complain about club prices. Medical Marijuana club owners are facing federal prosecution, raids, and humiliation so should should their prices be as low as your local highschool dealer? NO! It would definately be nice but until federal law changes prices should and will stay up.
surplus...
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sun, 11/25/2007 - 10:27amI want to know where all the marijuana is going with all the recent 'store' closures. The growers must have an excess
of medicine ready to go bad because it's not being moved. The patients are hurting and the prices are cruel. Why does
guyringer allow that? advocate $5 ounces of Dank and $3 ounces of schwag(stress) for the patients. Arnold don't help.
How long will we have to wipe his asp? make calls write letters bug the guy about not being healthy from lack of medicine.
What happened to Let Us Pay Taxes and the Billion with a B dollars he was offered? I tried to find a coop I grow great 'tomatoes' and I tried to get hooked up in a patient way bringing to the coop. However all the Stores and Deliveries turned
out to be Just DRUG DEALERS. Jim McGowan, David Chavez Sr. David. Chavez Jr. ad inf. Time for the patients to be more responsible pick up the doobs and write letters The people behind prohibition are the one making the money. Talk about a phuked up way of life. But this is America and and and Goodday.
i luv blazing weed it gets
Comment posted by Anonymous on Wed, 04/02/2008 - 2:36pmi luv blazing weed it gets me so high i luv it
bless mary jane
the excess from closed clubs
Comment posted by Anonymous on Tue, 08/12/2008 - 10:23pmthe excess from closed clubs just ends up in the streets obviously. im a patient and i do find it very annoying how high the club prices are. you can easily get better deals on the streets. clubs also do shady stuff to make their money. like change names of weed and fluctuate prices to make it sell better. clubs get trees for extremely cheap prices, compared to both the streets and the prices the clubs charge for it. and obviously if marijuana were just made a legal cash crop it would be dirt cheap. patients shouldnt have to turn their wallets inside out to obtain relief. but i guess thats how all of the medicine industry works....
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your medicine should not be taxed.
Comment posted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/05/2007 - 7:35pm"Other dispensaries and patient groups argue that nonprofit collectives and co-ops should be exempt from taxes."
Medicines should not be taxed. PERIOD.