Community | October 16, 2009 | 11 comments

Massachusetts Act to Tax and Regulate Marijuana

source: http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/content/massachusetts-act-tax-and-regulate-marijuana

copperdragon
A regulated, taxed marijuana trade could help bolster the state’s economy, advocates for legal marijuana said today at a Revenue Committee hearing.

"Whether you like it or you hate it ... it is undeniable in 2009 that marijuana has become inextricably embedded in our culture," said Richard Evans, a Northampton attorney. "It is ubiquitous and it is ineradicable."

Evans urged the committee to "put on your green eye shades and give close scrutiny to marijuana prohibition." He asserted that the revenue the state could reap from a legalized marijuana industry could be comparable to the effect of introducing casinos, although he offered no supporting data.

During the hearing, lawmakers heard from a long line of lawyers, professors and young people who argued in favor of legalization, pointing to Massachusetts’s history as a leader on social issues and describing its potential to ease symptoms of Crohn’s disease or migraine headaches. Their testimony dominated the hearing, which also included on the docket bills to raise the alcohol excise tax and to reimburse cities and towns for tax exempt properties owned by non-profits.

Backers of legalization spoke on behalf of a bill (H 2929), filed by Rep. Ellen Story (D-Amherst) at Evans’s request. The proposal would prevent "possession or cultivation of cannabis," "gratuitous distribution of cannabis to an adult," and "possession or distribution of cannabis under a valid license" from being considered violations of the law.

A preamble to the proposal states that the goal of the bill is "the reduction of cannabis abuse, the elimination of marijuana-related crime and the raising of public revenue." The bill would establish a council to set up a grading system for marijuana quality and would ban additives, which supporters argued would ensure the health and safety of users.

The bill would impose various rates of excise taxes on marijuana retail sales, depending on the concentration of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Marijuana with the highest concentration of THC would be taxed at $250 an ounce, while lower concentrations would range from $150 to $200 in taxes. In addition, licenses to sell marijuana would cost $2,000 a year. Marijuana vending machine sales would be prohibited.

Lawmakers on the committee expressed skepticism but offered little in the way of opposition or support. Rep. Lew Evangelidis (R-Holden) wondered whether any other nations have a system of taxation and regulations of marijuana, and Rep. Jay Barrows (R-Mansfield) asked advocates whether they would be confident in the government’s ability to set up a regulatory system.

Committee co-chair Rep. Jay Kaufman (D-Lexington) said he was surprised by one aspect of the arguments.

"This is probably the only hearing this committee has ever had or will ever have with this number of people asking to be taxed," he said.

The discussion came nearly a year after Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana, replacing the threat of arrest with a $100 fine.

But advocates for legalization say decriminalizing possession still leaves open the question of where users would obtain marijuana, which they say is now done on an unregulated, often dangerous black market. They also highlighted the potential medical uses of marijuana and noted that California and Rhode Island were exploring issues surrounding legalization.

Rep. William Breault, a member of the Main South Alliance for Public Safety, a Worcester-area organization that advocates for various public safety measures, said legalizing marijuana would be giving political validation to a dangerous drug that is often the cause of impaired driving accidents. He said that in California, where some dispensaries may legally sell medical marijuana, ancillary robberies, shootings and other crimes have resulted.

Breault said he is pursuing local efforts to raise fines for possession
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    Community,   H.E.M.P.,   Make Marijuana Matter,   Make Marijuana Matter More
  2. tags:
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11 comments // Massachusetts Act to Tax and Regulate Marijuana // Video

  • hunzedog
  • hunzedog
  • hunzedog
    • 0
      hunzedog  

    • William Breault: Stupidest man in Worcester, part 2
      by Brendan Melican on June 14, 2008

      I remember when working as an EMT, a conversation that would spring up often was the potential of narcan for non-professional administration. If you’ve never seen the drug used it’s really an amazing thing. Watching someone who has overdosed on opiates on the nod and on the way out the door, essentially go into withdrawal and ready to OD again, all in seconds. Very neat stuff. Since an opiate overdose will obviously kill you and narcan is relatively safe drug with a short half life, it stands to reason packaging the product for self administration the same way we have epi-pens for allergic reactions, would be a no brainer.

      Enter Billy Breault, the one man band known as the Main South Alliance for Public Safety, with an opinion on the grant money Worcester is getting to train opiate users on the self administration of narcan.

      “We’ve had private conversations with those involved,” Mr. Breault said. “This funding is under the guise of drug prevention, but this is more about assisting than preventing.”

      Yes, you disgusting fraud, it’s about assisting people in staying alive while reducing the burden on public services. How is that a bad thing? The problem with douche bags like Billy, they really believe there is a war on drugs. They thought Nixon had a real plan, believed all that Nancy Reagan bull shit, they still think D.A.R.E. is a successful program and they believe in some puritanical pipe dream that one day people will stop putting the things in their bodies that make life fun. Fear these people as they are not very bright.

      This grant Worcester is receiving is an extension of a program currently running in Boston, San Francisco, New Mexico, Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Chicago; modeled after successful programs in Europe. The reality of these narcan emergency kits is they save lives and arguably more importantly they save resources. They allow a user, friends or family to administer a narcan nasal spray at the first sign of overdose, which contrary to popular opinion is an anomaly for a seasoned user. So while it’s fair to be critical of the OD itself and the addiction leading to it, it’s undeniable this self administration removes an ambulance, engine company, police response and obligatory emergency room evaluation from the equation. Since the only logical argument against drug use and its affects on society is the burden it places on public resources, this sort of program is an obvious step in the right direction.

      Our biggest problem with drugs in Worcester isn’t the drugs themselves. It’s pretending they don’t touch every race, economic class and political affiliation. Which is why in Worcester we’re decades behind other large cities in treatment and prevention. Until we’re honest with that fact, annoyances like Billy will continue spouting off and ignorant fools will continue to listen.

      link to T&G article on the subject.

    • 2 years ago
  • hunzedog
    • 0
      hunzedog  

    • "Breault said he is pursuing local efforts to raise fines for possession " i wonder what his number is.....? He is going against the will of the people. he needs some hasslin ! he shure would give it to you

    • 2 years ago
  • hunzedog
  • FoosMaster
    • 0
      FoosMaster  
    • hunzedog:

      I won't pay more than $300-$325 for an O of Dro and I think that is too much. An O of Mid is $175 and dirt it $90. Granted I often can't find the Dro for my price when my favorite connections are out so I usually end up with mid during those times. I think that the Dro should be around $250-$300 total. The thing is, if you add $250 in taxes to the price, then how much will it end up being? If the tax on Dro was $100 (reasonable) and if the store doesn't price gouge people, then it could be sold for $250-$300 and a decent profit can be made. If you think that my figures are off then I would love the opportunity to have my own legal business and prove it. I could make good money (Not get rich) and put the gougers out of business. $400-$500 comes from people that either want to get rich quick on it or just don’t know how to do grow it the right way. The reason why prices are what they are today is because of the risks, not the cost of production. If I were allowed to grow my own personal I could have it for around $75-$100 an O in expenses.

    • 2 years ago
  • FoosMaster
    • 0
      FoosMaster  
    • hunzedog:

      Yes, certain store locations can be expensive and the price in those locations would be higher because of it and some people would pay that higher price for convenience. But if it was also sold in cheaper rural areas like mine then the price can be as I suggest. Now wouldn’t that be nice.

    • 2 years ago
  • caverat101
    • 0
      caverat101  

    • 250 for an o of mids? where are you form man, youre gettin robbed.. an o of mids should cost no more than 120, and that's if they're good mids

    • 2 years ago
  • tmaleman
    • 0
      tmaleman  

    • I don't know FoosMaster, I'm pretty sure that 250 bucks couldn't buy an oz of the harshest mids you can imagine - I'd consider it a steal for "marijuana with the highest concentration levels"

    • 2 years ago
  • FoosMaster
    • 0
      FoosMaster  

    • $250.00 an ounce tax? Who do they think will buy that legal pot at such an outrageously inflated price with that much tax added to the cost? I think they want it to fail so they can point to it and say “See, it didn’t bring in the tax money that the legalization supporters said it would so it should be made illegal again.” The only hope the average person has under this law is hopefully they will also allow personal cultivation for personal use.

    • 2 years ago
  • pcole
    • 0
      pcole  

    • Mass. I hope you can get this done. The old "Reefer Madness" mentality had its time and the American public is finally seeing the truth. The war on drugs was ill conceived, impossible to execute and an incredible waste of money, lives and resources. Let's keep fighting and supporting cannabis law reform.

    • 2 years ago
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