So far, the whole medical weed thing has been working out pretty well for California. Sick people are getting their medicine and a cash-strapped state is getting some much needed revenue—in many cases, dispensaries are begging to be taxed, begging! Read more »
What a year it’s been for medical weed. No other substance has enjoyed such a huge amount of favorable press across a wide spectrum of media outlets, even managing to look good on traditionally slanted networks like Fox, repeatedly. Equally impressive, are the string of political victories on the local, state, and federal level. There’s been so many positive mentions that Americans may even finally be warming up to the idea of regulating the good herb like alcohol and booze, which is good for patients and partygoers alike, as well as the economy, as it can generate lots of much needed revenue. Let’s take a quick look back at the public relations coup that the ganja pulled off in 2009. Read more »
In another victory for legalization, the good people of Oakland voted overwhelmingly (80%) to increase taxes on revenue from medical pot dispensaries. Measure F calls for a cut of $18 for every $1,000 worth of herb sold. Unlike virtually any other industry operating in the cash strapped state of California, many of the medical pot providers are begging to be taxed if it means less police meddling. Dispensary owner Richard Lee is happy to contribute to the city’s coffers instead of the legal justice system’s: “This tax is a lot cheaper than lawyers.” |NYT|
San Francisco’s city officials want the Feds to quit stealing the city’s weed supply and more importantly are demanding that “U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to provide clear direction to the DEA and federal judges and prosecutors on President Obama’s new policy on medical marijuana.” |MPP|
As GM braces for bankruptcy and the stock market continues to putter along, there’s at least one economy that is growing: hydroponic weed. The NY Post reports that “homegrown marijuana operations have soared by 60 percent” with the DEA destroying at least five perfectly good indoor farms in the NYC area. Unlike many of America’s other failed industries, cultivating premo bud is a “lucrative business” according to one DEA official with pounds selling upwards of $5,000 despite the budding financial crisis. Unlike other states that are moving towards taxing and regulating the ganja trade, NY is still way behind the times, just recently shedding its Rockefeller drug laws. |NYP|
“Uh, he, he does not think that, uh, uh, that that is uh, uh, [pause] he opposes it, he doesn’t think that that’s the, the right plan for America.” That was White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fumbling to explain President Barack Obama’s snarky dismissal of generating revenue for the broke ass country by taxing and regulating the sale of marijuana. Turns out the administration hasn’t even run any numbers and has no economic analysis about the prospects whatsoever. |Huffington Post|
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