Tax and Regulate

B.C. Medical Marijuana Growers to Pay Tax on Illegal Income

from The Globe and Mail (Canada), January 05, 2011

Location:

Canada

The Canada Revenue Agency is trying to collect some income tax from marijuana growers who supply B.C.'s Compassion Club. Compassion Club lawyer John Conroy says the two sides have reached an agreement and the club is now trying to convince growers to claim their income. He says many people don't realize that even if you're involved in illegal activities, declaring the illegal income won't result in criminal charges.

Publication/Source:

The Globe and Mail (Canada)

URL:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-medical-marijuana-growers-to-pay-tax-on-illegal-income/article1859117/

Missoula Jury Pool Creates Uproar Across Nation After Marijuana 'Mutiny'

from The Billings Gazette (MT), January 03, 2011

Location:

Missoula, MT

United States

See map: Google Maps

A jury pool's action — and the reaction to it — has serious ramifications for continued prosecution of low-level nonviolent drug crimes, not just in Missoula County but around the country. The story "hit a nerve" around the country, said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the national Drug Policy Alliance that advocates drug law reform. "It shows the emperor-has-no-clothes dimension to what happened. It's an expression of what many people feel — that marijuana possession should no longer be illegal," he said.

Publication/Source:

The Billings Gazette (MT)

URL:

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_c7b4045b-5aad-513d-b8f4-ab5186d39008.html

Teen Marijuana Use Continues to Rise: Report Consistently Shows Prohibition’s Failure to Curb Teen Access to Marijuana; More Teens Say Marijuana is Easy To Get (Press Release)

by dguard, December 14, 2010, 11:25am

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DECEMBER 14, 2010

Teen Marijuana Use Continues to Rise

Annual Report Consistently Shows Prohibition’s Failure to Curb Teen Access to Marijuana; More Teens Say Marijuana is Easy To Get

CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications: 202-905-2030, 443-927-6400 or [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Marijuana use by 8th, 10th and 12th grade students increased in 2010, with more American teenagers now using marijuana than cigarettes for the second year in a row, according to numbers released today by the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the University of Michigan as part of the annual Monitoring the Future survey. In 2010, 21.4 percent of high school seniors used marijuana in the last 30 days, while 19.2 had used cigarettes.

“It’s really no surprise that more American teenagers are using marijuana and continue to say it’s easy to get. Our government has spent decades refusing to regulate marijuana in order to keep it out of the hands of drug dealers who aren’t required to check customer ID and have no qualms about selling marijuana to young people,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “The continued decline in teen tobacco use is proof that sensible regulations, coupled with honest, and science-based public education can be effective in keeping substances away from young people. It’s time we acknowledge that our current marijuana laws have utterly failed to accomplish one of their primary objectives – to keep marijuana away from young people – and do the right thing by regulating marijuana, bringing its sale under the rule of law, and working to reduce the unfettered access to marijuana our broken laws have given teenagers.”

Since the survey’s inception, overwhelmingly numbers of American teenagers have said marijuana was easy for them to obtain. According to the 2010 numbers, the use of alcohol – which is also regulated and sold by licensed merchants required to check customer ID – continued to decline among high school seniors.

With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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Activists Look to Advance Marijuana Reform Legislation

from Daily News (MA), December 10, 2010

Location:

United States

See map: Google Maps

The Massachusetts Cannabis Convention resolved that "noncommercial cultivation for personal use is a human right and is not to be taxed" at a meeting in Georgetown, Massachusetts last weekend. More than 50 marijuana reform activists from around the state attended the convention called by the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition (Mass Cann), a state affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Publication/Source:

Daily News (MA)

URL:

http://www.newburyportnews.com/local/x1964517213/Activists-look-to-advance-marijuana-reform-legislation

Humboldt's Marijuana Growers Team Up to Go Legit

from The Sacramento Bee (CA), November 28, 2010

Location:

Humboldt, CA

United States

See map: Google Maps

America's most renowned bastion of illicit marijuana growing is threatened by cavernous, city-taxed cultivation warehouses soon to be licensed in Oakland. It is alarmed by cities from La Puente to Berkeley to Sacramento that approved taxes on dispensaries or endorsed medical marijuana cultivation, sanctioning a marijuana economy wider and more competitive than ever. Humboldt seeks to save itself by going legit -- the new Humboldt Growers Association is working for county approval to license and tax outdoor pot plantations of up to 40,000 square feet.

Publication/Source:

The Sacramento Bee (CA)

URL:

http://www.sacbee.com/2010/11/28/3216072/humbolds-pot-growers-team-up-to.html

Medical Marijuana Sales Tax Nets $2.2 Million for Colorado This Year

from The Denver Post (CO), November 23, 2010

Location:

United States

See map: Google Maps

Medical marijuana dispensaries are now putting hundreds of thousands of dollars a month into state and city treasuries in Colorado. So far this year, the state has collected more than $2.2 million in sales tax from dispensaries.

Publication/Source:

The Denver Post (CO)

URL:

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_16688199

Will a Special Tax on Medical Marijuana Sales Get Your Vote?

from LAist (CA), November 16, 2010

Location:

Los Angeles, CA

United States

See map: Google Maps

The L.A. City Council is considering putting a special tax on medical marijuana collectives, however the voters will have the final say. Today the Council is expected to be presented with the City Attorney's recently issued report on the tax measure, and they are being recommended to adopt the resolution and have the proposition put on the March 8th, 2011 ballot.

Publication/Source:

LAist (CA)

URL:

http://laist.com/2010/11/16/city_council_to_consider_a_prop_to.php

Oakland Okays Medical Marijuana Mega-Grows

by psmith, November 15, 2010, 10:20pm, (Issue #659)

The Oakland city council last week approved an application process for commercial-scale medical marijuana grow ops. That same night, the city council also approved a separate measure doubling the number of dispensaries licensed to operate in the city from four to eight.

coming to Oakland -- licensed commercial-scale marijuana grows (Wikimedia)

The move makes Oakland the first city in the nation to approve marijuana cultivation on such a large scale. City council members said it was designed to take medical marijuana cultivation out of the shadows.

"Oakland is a leader in this industry, and I'm hoping that this will continue to grow," said Councilman Larry Reid in remarks reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Under the regulations approved Tuesday, applicants for the four grow licenses must undergo extensive financial background checks, provide security, and show themselves to be well-backed financially. The regulations also require that applicants pay back taxes for marijuana they have sold to Oakland dispensaries over the years, as well as interest and penalties.

It is unclear just how much marijuana large growers seeking one of the four permits have sold to city dispensaries. Much of the marijuana in the dispensaries is produced by small growers. The council earlier this year promised to create regulations to include them too, but has not yet done so.

Oakland, CA

United States

See map: Google Maps

Marianas Islands Marijuana Legalization Bill Passes House

by psmith, November 12, 2010, 04:06am, (Issue #659)

A bill to legalize marijuana passed the House in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI), a US territory, November 4. But the governor says he would only sign a medical marijuana bill, and the Senate appears poised to kill it.

Saipan -- moving toward a tropical paradise

Still, its passage marks the first time a pot legalization bill has passed in a legislative chamber in any US territory.

The bill, HB 17-45, was championed by Rep. Stanley Torres (I-Saipan). It would "allow individuals 21 years or older to possess, cultivate, or transport marijuana for personal use; permit the regulation and taxation of the commercial production and sale to people 21 years old or older," while barring pot possession on school grounds and use in the presence of minors.

Earlier this year, a cost-benefit analysis performed by the House Committee on Natural Resources said enacting the bill into law "will possibly result in the loss of federal funds but at the same time the Commonwealth government will generate funds through taxation."

Torres and other legalization supporters also argued that the bill would allow access to marijuana by the ill and reduce crime and violence in black markets.

But Senate President Paul Manglona (R-Rota) said Wednesday that the Senate will kill the bill next. "It's for the same reasons I mentioned before," he told the Saipan Tribune, citing concerns about marijuana use's impact on CNMI youth and other ill effects on the community.

And Gov. Beningno Fitial signaled that he was okay with medical marijuana, but not for non-medical.
"I support it for medicinal use," Fitial told reporters. "I never smoke marijuana myself so I cannot talk much about it because I don't have the experience."

Saipan

United States Minor Outlying Islands

LA City Council Pushes for Medical Marijuana Tax on March Ballot

from Examiner.com (CO), November 11, 2010

Location:

Los Angeles, CA

United States

See map: Google Maps

The Los Angeles City Council pushed for a ballot measure to begin taxing medical marijuana. There are cities in California that tax medical marijuana, such as San Jose, La Puente, Oakland, Richmond, Sacramento, and Berkeley. With a vote of 9-3 the Los Angeles City Council has informed city attorney’s to draft a ballot measure for the March 8 election in favor of taxing marijuana.

Publication/Source:

Examiner.com (CO)

URL:

http://www.examiner.com/city-hall-in-los-angeles/la-city-council-pushes-for-medical-marijuana-tax-on-march-ballot

Tax and Regulate

B.C. Medical Marijuana Growers to Pay Tax on Illegal Income

Missoula Jury Pool Creates Uproar Across Nation After Marijuana 'Mutiny'

Teen Marijuana Use Continues to Rise: Report Consistently Shows Prohibition’s Failure to Curb Teen Access to Marijuana; More Teens Say Marijuana is Easy To Get (Press Release)

Activists Look to Advance Marijuana Reform Legislation

Humboldt's Marijuana Growers Team Up to Go Legit

Medical Marijuana Sales Tax Nets $2.2 Million for Colorado This Year

Will a Special Tax on Medical Marijuana Sales Get Your Vote?

Oakland Okays Medical Marijuana Mega-Grows

Marianas Islands Marijuana Legalization Bill Passes House

LA City Council Pushes for Medical Marijuana Tax on March Ballot

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