cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Tax Worth $28.6 Million, Study Says





Marijuana Tax Worth $28.6 Million, Study Says
Posted by CN Staff on October 16, 2002 at 07:52:16 PT
By Ed Vogel, Review-Journal Capital Bureau
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal 
A UNLV study released today said Nevada would receive $28.6 million a year in additional revenue if voters approved Question 9 and the state taxed marijuana. The study by the Center for Business & Economic Research based its conclusions on 75,000 people, 5 percent of the adult population, using an average of 12 grams, less than a half-ounce, of marijuana per month. 
Question 9, if approved by voters Nov. 5 and again in 2004, would allow people age 21 and older to possess up to 3 ounces of the drug. Driving under the influence of the drug, use in public and use by those younger than 21 would be prohibited. R. Keith Schwer of the Center of Business and Economic Research said the study did not take into consideration that marijuana is an illegal substance banned under federal law. Law enforcement authorities have said that because of the federal law, Nevada could not sell or tax the sale of marijuana. Schwer said the study was done at the request of Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, the organization that gathered signatures from 110,000 residents to put Question 9 on the general election ballot. The organization paid $5,000 for the study. "This had nothing to do with the center's view on marijuana," Schwer said. "People who vote on this issue should know what we found." Billy Rogers, leader of Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, had estimated 150,000 regular marijuana users were in the state. Rogers said Tuesday that the earlier estimate of 110,000 to 150,000 regular users included juveniles. He said Schwer is being conservative in his estimate of users. "I thought they were extremely careful in their study," Rogers said. "Twenty-eight million dollars would buy a lot of textbooks for children, and it certainly would help fund education." Question 9 calls for the state Legislature to devise regulations "for the cultivation, taxation, sale and distribution" of marijuana to adults. Marijuana would be bought from state licensed stores. The tax rate, set in the ballot initiative, would be the same as the tax for tobacco products. The UNLV center based the average retail price for marijuana at $250 per ounce. At that rate, the state would reap annual marijuana taxes of $22.1 million and $6.5 million in additional sales taxes, according to the report. A marijuana tax could not be levied before 2005, when the Legislature would meet to vote on regulations. Legislative Counsel Brenda Erdoes said the state has a marijuana tax of $250 per gram that allows the state to cash in when large amounts of marijuana are confiscated from drug dealers. The tax brings in less than $2,000 a year. "The constitution does not prohibit the state from doing something like that (enacting a new marijuana tax)," Erdoes said. "But the enforcement of federal law might be a problem." In coming up with 75,000 marijuana users, Schwer counted tourists as 10 percent of the users. Language in the ballot question does not deny marijuana to visitors. It says only that persons older than 21 can possess the drug without fear of arrest. But another section in the question prohibits people from transporting marijuana in or out of Nevada.Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)Author: Ed Vogel, Review-Journal Capital BureauPublished: Wednesday, October 16, 2002Copyright: 2002 Las Vegas Review-JournalContact: letters lvrj.comWebsite: http://www.lvrj.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:NRLEhttp://www.nrle.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/An 'Out-of-State' Campaign http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14448.shtmlQuestion 9 Backers Speak Outhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14431.shtmlDrug Czar Says State Faces Liabilityhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14418.shtmlDA's Drug Cartel Remark Angers Initiative Officialhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14379.shtml
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Comment #14 posted by legalizeit on October 16, 2002 at 14:45:18 PT
A great option for states
I don't know how many times I've heard about states being railroaded into passing nuisance laws like seat-belt laws, helmet laws, speed limits, etc. under the threat of losing federal highway funding.If the Nevada plan flies, that will be a precedent for other states to declare themselves at least partially independent from funding, and therefore coercion, from the Feds.Of course, if states then become dependent on taxation of cannabis as they do on any other tax-money source, then they will still crack down on those who grow their own, which might create another black market of sorts. Still it would be far better than what we have now, with states and Feds squandering billions each year, and corrupt, greedy cops getting richer off of ill-gotten forfeited goods, all over the growing and selling of a PLANT!Uncle Sam is campaigning so hard against this, because if it passes, they will lose more control over the Sheeple than they want to!
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on October 16, 2002 at 12:40:43 PT
I Liked This Letter To The Editor
The Cartels and the Cops
 
 October 16, 2002 
 
 I'm not sure where certain persons get their information in Las Vegas, but I can assure you that I'm am not a Colombian cartel member, I'm from Ohio. While the Marijuana Policy Project may have a few members from Columbus Ohio, I seriously doubt that Colombian cartel members have decided that they make too much money and now want to share their revenues via taxation with the state of Nevada. No sir, there are two types of people who favor prohibition of marijuana, those who profit from its prohibition and those who profit from it's prohibition, the cartels, and the cops. Both groups of people stand to lose a great deal when Nevadans vote to evict the cartels, reassign the police, and regulate the sale and possession of marijuana.It's quite simple really, prohibition creates cartels, regulation eliminates them, those who lack accurate knowledge on the subject should check the history books under alcohol prohibition and the cartels it created during the 1920s. Jim White 
Pahrump Valley Times 2002 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?brd=1125
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Comment #12 posted by The GCW on October 16, 2002 at 11:46:08 PT
Extra benefits $$$$
If presently 100 people get caged for using cannabis, and once legal, they don't, then there will be 100 people spending that money that was snookered from them on other items.Instead of letting the gov. take it, for lawyers fees; court costs; fines; lost work time etc. those 100 people will be contributing to the economy by spending money in restaurants, clothing stores, auto dealerships, food, housing, etc.The lawyer, prison guard, cop etc. does not want to loose the income, but it is filthy money, stolen from innocent people, that shouldn't have been separated from their money.It seems shop owners should be raising a stink, knowing that their business is hurting because the gov. is confronting too many citizen, to get into their pocket. (think of all legit the business that could use a few % more sales) The gov. is competing with customer dollars, that belongs to others...THIS IS MONEY THE STUDY DOES NOT EVEN TAKE INTO ACCOUNT. By extension, The casinos would have more customers, with more money, if the police didn't cage them, and hand them over to the chief priest, to steal money.
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Comment #11 posted by afterburner on October 16, 2002 at 10:57:28 PT:
Nevada Dreaming
The walls are falling. The movement is gathering steam, or should I say smoke? Vapors? With honest reports being published, governments getting realistic, LTE's spreading the truth, politicians questioning prohibition, and voter initiatives on the ballot, proponents are starting to see the light at the end of "a long, strange trip" and want to get on "the Peace Train."Re-legalize and be wise.
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Comment #10 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on October 16, 2002 at 10:00:37 PT
9 Rastafarians running for office in Jamaica
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=573&ncid=757&e=8&u=/nm/20021016/od_nm/rastas_dc
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on October 16, 2002 at 09:29:53 PT
I love this topic
I like thinking about how things could be and how they won't be. The reality is we shouldn't even need to think about this topic because it should be legal but, oh that but, this is where we are and at least it is better then nothing at all. 
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Comment #8 posted by Duzt on October 16, 2002 at 09:19:51 PT
FOM
that will all be hammered out after the election. They have 2 years to decide on certification, taxing, etc. I'm sure they will only allow shops in certain zoning, kind of like they do with the brothels we have here. I don't think they will have places where you can smoke like Amsterdam, only places where you can go buy it and take it home, like a liquor store, which is fine with me too for now. I assume it will be an expensive license like a liquor license and only a certain amount will be sold.
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Comment #7 posted by medicinal toker on October 16, 2002 at 09:17:25 PT
what the market will bear
With it's proximity to Mexico, NV pot consumers are probably now able to pick up ounces for around $100-125, give or take. WAMM's cost to produce high grade medical cannabis was 94 cents per gram, according to an article I read.Like overtaxing (legal) cigarettes has created a lucrative black market, overtaxing (legal) pot will no doubt lead to the exact same thing. But with the federal constraints it is probably all a moot point at this time, anyways. Even if it passes, the prospect of Nevada actually growing and selling pot at state stores is likely to be merely symbolic for the time being. The best we can hope for with passage is that the feds start seeing the handwriting on the wall that says "Cannabis prohibition no longer has the support of the people, and it's a counterproductive fraud and stupid".Me, I just want to grow my own for $0 per ounce.
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Comment #6 posted by Duzt on October 16, 2002 at 09:15:29 PT
cost
That is a very reasonable price to assume. At the San Francisco clubs you pay between $5 an 1/8 for schwag on up to $65 an 1/8 for their best quality. It's just like wine. Some people are willing to pay thousands for top quality wine, the same will apply to cannabis. 5-10% THC bud (commercial strains like top 44 and Big Bud) will sell for less than that figure, top end bud with 15%-30+% like Jack Herer, Haze hybrids, etc. which take much more care and time will sell for more. Chemically grown bud will be less than certified organically grown. That price is right on the mark. I pay $15-$20 per gram in Amsterdam and Haarlem for the best organically grown hazes and am fine with that because I grwo them as well and have to wait up to 14 weeks for some strains to finish flowering.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on October 16, 2002 at 09:13:12 PT
Another Comment
If a person wants to drink beer at home it wouldn't cost much but to buy the same amount of beer at a baseball game would be very expensive and no one really complains. They would be paying for the ready availability of having it whenever they wanted it if this measure passes. It would almost be a luxury tax.PS: How will growers get certified?
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Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on October 16, 2002 at 09:04:08 PT
FYI
I was recently in Amsterdam, cannabis there costs between $150 and $300 per ounce.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 16, 2002 at 08:54:46 PT
Just a Comment
That is a lot of money for an ounce. Maybe this is the way to look at it or maybe not but here is my thought. If the state stores could only buy from certified state growers they could do a good business because most tourists won't go looking on the streets I don't think. That is how it could work but that sure is a lot of money for an ounce of Cannabis.PS: Will they have Certified Growers? 
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Comment #2 posted by medicinal toker on October 16, 2002 at 08:29:10 PT
Black Market prices?
"The tax rate, set in the ballot initiative, would be the same as the tax for tobacco products. The UNLV center based the average retail price for marijuana at $250 per ounce. At that rate, the state would reap annual marijuana taxes of $22.1 million and $6.5 million in additional sales taxes, according to the report."Why would they assume it's going to cost $250 per ounce? At this rate, there will still be a black market undercutting the price. To charge $250 for an ounce for a plant that can be grown for pennies per gram doesn't solve anything.Seems pretty unrealistic to me.
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on October 16, 2002 at 08:06:16 PT:
Very Interesting
This should stimulate further discussion! States are desperate for revenue. The Feds are dead set against any quarter on the cannabis issue. The two are on a collision course. Events in Europe and Canada will help stimulate the debate. Sooner or later, the courts will allow rationality to prevail and will halt the federal usurpation of power.
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