Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Palm Springs voters overwhelmingly approved a new tax on recreational marijuana in advance of legal sales starting in January.
Early results from voting held Tuesday showed a strong majority supported the expanded pot tax, known as Measure E. The city already taxes medical marijuana.
Incomplete and still unofficial vote tallies late Tuesday showed close to 80 percent of voters supporting Measure E.
Mayor Rob Moon had called the proposal a "no brainer." With marijuana still a relatively new and shifting revenue stream, no one felt capable of predicting how much the broader tax would help the city of Palm Springs' troubled finances.
Already, the city collects about $1.5 million annually from a 10 percent tax on the medical marijuana sold in dispensaries. Expanding the tax to recreational sales should mean more money for the city, but just how much is a big unknown.
Marijuana is a $7.7 billion industry in California when illegal sales are included, according to an estimate by the University of California Agricultural Issues Center. And making recreational use legal will increase the amount of marijuana sold in the state by 9.4 percent, the center estimated in a report released this year.
Like the existing marijuana tax, which voters approved in 2013, the new tax will send money to the city's general fund, meaning it can be spent on almost any purpose.
A mailer released by the city and paid for with tax money said Measure E would "enhance City resources to support proper regulation and oversight of cannabis cultivation, processing and sales." And, "Measure E would also make funding available for programs such as drug education and prevention for at-risk youth."
Measure E had support from public safety groups who also campaigned for passage of an increase in the city's sales tax. There was no organized campaign against Measure E.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Palm Springs election: Recreational marijuana tax wins big support
Author: Barrett Newkirk
Contact: Contact Us | The Desert Sun
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: The Desert Sun | Palm Springs and Coachella Valley news
Early results from voting held Tuesday showed a strong majority supported the expanded pot tax, known as Measure E. The city already taxes medical marijuana.
Incomplete and still unofficial vote tallies late Tuesday showed close to 80 percent of voters supporting Measure E.
Mayor Rob Moon had called the proposal a "no brainer." With marijuana still a relatively new and shifting revenue stream, no one felt capable of predicting how much the broader tax would help the city of Palm Springs' troubled finances.
Already, the city collects about $1.5 million annually from a 10 percent tax on the medical marijuana sold in dispensaries. Expanding the tax to recreational sales should mean more money for the city, but just how much is a big unknown.
Marijuana is a $7.7 billion industry in California when illegal sales are included, according to an estimate by the University of California Agricultural Issues Center. And making recreational use legal will increase the amount of marijuana sold in the state by 9.4 percent, the center estimated in a report released this year.
Like the existing marijuana tax, which voters approved in 2013, the new tax will send money to the city's general fund, meaning it can be spent on almost any purpose.
A mailer released by the city and paid for with tax money said Measure E would "enhance City resources to support proper regulation and oversight of cannabis cultivation, processing and sales." And, "Measure E would also make funding available for programs such as drug education and prevention for at-risk youth."
Measure E had support from public safety groups who also campaigned for passage of an increase in the city's sales tax. There was no organized campaign against Measure E.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Palm Springs election: Recreational marijuana tax wins big support
Author: Barrett Newkirk
Contact: Contact Us | The Desert Sun
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: The Desert Sun | Palm Springs and Coachella Valley news
