Thread: California Passes Recreational Marijuana Bill Prop 64

If they legalize for the Tax $$$...then a percentage of those taxes need to be put in a separate FUND paying for the crime, overdoses, hospital costs, car accidents and all other costs associated for the repercussions of this!

This is just another get rich quick scheme that has unintended consequences.

They think they are going to make a fortune...then spend that tax money on their slush funds...then screw the taxpayers to pay for the damages incurred. NO NO NO

Taxpayers should not pay for any damages!

From the article:

. . . It also allows the state to tax the cultivation and sale of pot; cities and counties may also impose their own taxes. Revenue from the taxes will go to drug research, youth programs and other community resources related to regulating the marijuana industry.

Much like laws regulating alcohol, it is still illegal for Californians to drive under the influence of marijuana. Users may also not smoke in public places or wherever smoking tobacco is illegal. In addition, they cannot possess it on school grounds, daycare centers or youth centers where children are present. . .

California just legalized marijuana, and it's going to have a huge impact on the economy

• Ben Gilbert

• 7h
• 21,607

California is the world's sixth largest economy, only outpaced by the US (as a whole), China, Japan, Germany, and the UK. The Golden State's economic output for 2015 came in at $2.46 trillion.

Let's be clear: We're talking about a single US state economy compared with those of entire countries. California, on that scale, is number six.

And that's why it's such a tremendously big deal that California just fully legalized marijuana, just like Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska before it.

Customers buying products at the Harvest Medical Marijuana Dispensary in San Francisco on April 20, 2016. AP Photo/ Haven Daley

We're not talking about de-criminalization, or police de-prioritization.

We're talking about alcohol-style regulation and sale of marijuana to adults, age 21 and up. We're talking about legally allowed personal cultivation, state/local taxation of retail sales/distribution, and re-evaluation of sentences/records for people charged with marijuana offenses.

We're talking about outright, full-on legalization of marijuana. And in the world's sixth largest economy, that means billions of dollars.

Who doesn't like charts? New Frontier Data / Arcview Market Research

California's Proposition 64 passed on November 8, and retail sales are set to begin by January 1, 2018. Residents and visitors can start legally consuming marijuana immediately, as of 12:01 a.m. on November 9, but have nowhere to legally purchase cannabis for recreational use until 2018.

All of which is to say: Tax revenue isn't going to start rolling in until 2018.

When it does, California's looking at an additional $1.5 billion flooding into the marijuana market. That number swells to just shy of $3 billion in 2019, and nearly $4 billion by 2020, based on the latest report from New Frontier Data and ArcView Market Research.

And to be clear, that's on top of the already booming medical marijuana market — the total size of the cannabis market would reach $4.27 billion in 2018, and would grow to $6.45 billion by 2020.

The ballot initiative was overwhelming supported in California: 56% of voters supported Prop. 64, compared to just 44% opposed.

The Adult Use of Marijuana Act raised more than enough signatures to get Proposition 64 added to the state ballot in November. AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

Beyond the tremendous market growth above, the state of California itself stands to earn a substantial chunk of cash from marijuana legalization.

There are two specific taxes that Prop. 64 applies to legal marijuana:

1. Cultivation tax: $9.25/oz. for "flowers" (buds) and $2.75/oz. for "leaves" (trimming from the marijuana plant that's often used to produce derivative THC-based products).
2. Retail tax: 15% tax on the retail price (with inflation adjustment starting in 2020).

In addition, local governments could apply additional taxes; they could also offer tax-free benefits in an effort to encourage marijuana industry growth.

So, what's the impact in dollars?

Anywhere from, "high hundreds of millions of dollars to over $1 billion annually," according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's office. That's before factoring in, "reduced criminal justice costs of tens of millions of dollars annually."

California joins two other states that voted in favor of fully legalizing marijuana this November: Massachusetts and Nevada. Maine is also on the verge of legalization, though votes are still coming in as of publishing.

http://www.businessinsider.com/marij...conomy-2016-11

Never thought I'd live to see the day government aided and prospered in the distribution of marijuana. IMO, this is a big mistake that will only make the drug more accessible to children and contribute to the destruction of young minds and families. Greed is not an excuse for stupidity. And anyone that thinks this will end the illegal drug trade is not thinking clearly.

I really do not understand how the people in California who over the years have worked so hard to stigmatize anyone who smokes tobacco passed this. I mean really, on the same ballot the voters passed prop 56. An $2.00 tax increase per pack, with equivlant increase on other tobacco products and electronic cigarettes. Revenues to be used primarily to augment spending on health care for low-income (Californians).
I guess it would be cheaper for cigarette smokers to switch to smoking home grown pot.

Every time California says that taxes are going to be put in a fund for anything they include the wording that the state can use the money for some sort of emergency and the state always finds a reason to take the money. If all the money that was supposed to go to our schools and education wasn't redirected somewhere else, we would have the best schools in the country.

Originally Posted by MontereySherry

. . . I guess it would be cheaper for cigarette smokers to switch to smoking home grown pot.

They can grow their own tobacco and roll it themselves and not pay any taxes on their cigarettes.

http://www.alipac.us/f9/warning-big-...4/#post1525177

Our city prohibits marijuana dispensaries within the city, delivering marijuana within the city or cultivating marijuana in the city except 6 plants in private homes. The police dept sent out a message explaining prop 64 stating the law and limits and saying they will enforce the law to the fullest extent.

Originally Posted by MontereySherry

Every time California says that taxes are going to be put in a fund for anything they include the wording that the state can use the money for some sort of emergency and the state always finds a reason to take the money. If all the money that was supposed to go to our schools and education wasn't redirected somewhere else, we would have the best schools in the country.

The same thing has happened in N.C. with the lottery. The lottery passed years ago with the promise that all the profits would be funneled into education. The lottery received voter approval through false pretense.