Posted on September 6th, 2008 by Cali CannabisNew article just posted to ABC News hints at the massive tax revenues the state of California could reap if they established clearer operational guidelines for dispensary owners. Their reporter Mary Spicuzza visited Humboldt Country, where local activist Martha Devine told her that the economy of Humboldt County “would have ceased to exist a long time ago without it. This county was built on marijuana.”
More from ABC on medical cannabis tax revenue in California..
It’s estimated that $143 million in medical marijuana sales have netted $11.4 million in state and local taxes annually, based on registered businesses, California State Board of Equalization spokeswoman Anita Gore said. And those estimates are small compared with those in a 2006 report co-written by California NORML state coordinator Dale Gieringer, which said that Californians consumed between $870 million and $2 billion worth of medical marijuana per year.
And look how much California cities like Arcata benefit:
The City of Arcata declined to disclose specific taxes paid on medical marijuana sales by local businesses, calling that “proprietary information.” But the city’s finance director, Janet Luzzi, said one dispensary in town is among Arcata’s top 25 producers of sales tax, and has been for several quarters. But whether the new state and local guidelines can help bring peace to Humboldt remains to be seen.
But these tax paying, law-abiding citizens still have to worry about federal government and DEA agents knocking down the doors, even though they are following all state guidelines…
In the meantime, many local residents seem uncomfortable in their current position, caught between conflicting and confusing state and federal laws, where medical marijuana dispensaries that pay their state and local taxes may be raided at any time by the Drug Enforcement Administration or other federal agencies.
