Proposed Cannabis Tax Passes California Assembly

Money and marijuana featurePress Release from Assemblyman Jim Woods:

Assemblyman Jim Wood’s proposed cannabis excise tax AB 2243 won a major victory today passing the Assembly bi-partisan support. Any new tax in California requires the support of 2/3 of each house (54 votes in the Assembly) necessitating support from both Democrats and Republicans.

Assemblyman Wood said, “I have worked from day one to ensure our rural communities have the resources we need to prevent, and cleanup the environmental catastrophe currently underway in our forests and watersheds. This excise tax was part of AB 243 last year and was ultimately pulled at the last minute; this victory today is a huge step forward. ”

AB 2243 would levy a $9.25 per ounce tax on cannabis flowers, a $2.75 per ounce tax on cannabis leaves and a $1.25 tax on immature cannabis plants from nurseries. The tiered approach is modeled after the way alcohol is taxed based on the potency of the product, and is designed to ensure funding goes to the most impacted communities.

“AB 2243 imposes a reasonable tax on the production and distribution of commercial cannabis and will focus revenue on the communities, forests, and rivers,” said Hezekiah Allen, Executive Director of the California Growers Association. “This legislation is an important step to take to ensure immediate relief is available for the watersheds and communities that need help now.”

AB 2243 is projected to raise nearly $80 million annually. These funds will be distributed as follows:

30% to fund the Watershed Enforcement Team
30% for local law enforcement
30% for environmental cleanup on public and private lands
8% to restart state funding of the Williamson Act
2% to fund inter-agency regional enforcement coordinators within the Department of Justice

“Last year the Legislature took important steps to create a regulatory and licensing structure for medical marijuana,” said Paul A. Smith, Senior Legislative Advocate with the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC). “AB 2243 fleshes out the Legislature’s work by providing the financial resources to preserve the integrity of the regulatory structure, with a special emphasis on addressing the environmental impacts associated with marijuana cultivation. RCRC applauds the Assembly for recognizing the impacts that cultivation inflicts upon rural California.”

Eureka Police Chief Andrew Mills said, “As Chief of a city greatly impacted by cannabis, I appreciate Assemblyman Wood moving this bill forward to get those communities hit hardest by illegal cannabis cultivation the help we need.”

AB 2243 will now go to the Senate to be heard next in Senate Rules Committee.

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where r taxes going once paid?
Guest
where r taxes going once paid?
7 years ago

That’s great but unless the permit process becomes less expensive the small growers will still be on the black market. Its just asking for big biz or LLC’S to be the only ones with permits. Of course permits cost money, but $30,000 for a county permit is not going to help anyone but big guys.
Then the grower will have to get a state permit on top of that!

People who are actually making medicinal tinctures will be taxed 40% of their income, even for CBD tinctures. If it was any other herb they’d be charged around 20%. Who is going to be able to make a living at that tax besides a big company????

hmm
Guest
hmm
7 years ago

Great comment!

Anon Forrest
Guest
7 years ago

Exactly. af

Mogtx
Guest
7 years ago

Boy everybody wants a piece

Ullr rover
Guest
Ullr rover
7 years ago

Money, get away
Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay
Money, it’s a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I’ll buy me a football team
Money, get back
I’m all right Jack keep your hands off of my stack
Money, it’s a hit
Don’t give me that do goody good bullshit
I’m in the high-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet
Money, it’s a crime
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a raise it’s no surprise
That they’re giving none away
Away, away, way
(Away, away, away, away)

Gazoo
Guest
Gazoo
7 years ago

Then each city should be letting people open dispensarys to sell the product to generate taxes if not how do the taxes get paid? Kinda scetchy I feel

Hmmm
Guest
Hmmm
7 years ago

Not one dime for education, either. Schools and kids need the funding.

BluntsReef
Guest
BluntsReef
7 years ago
Reply to  Hmmm

While no money may directly go to education, you can bet a portion of the huge piece of pie allotted to law enforcement will be used by law enforcement agencies to print “Weed Ain’t Cool” stickers to distribute to school children in their propaganda campaign. Most certainly law enforcement will have a “Turn in Your Parents for Weed” component.

BurgerBob
Guest
BurgerBob
7 years ago
Reply to  Hmmm

Yeah, I’m bummed about that, too. I was hoping around 50% would go to public K-12 education.

Now I’m hoping for an additional tax on the county level. Nothing huge; $5 an ounce should be adequate.

FORG
Guest
FORG
7 years ago

So…suddenly, it becomes all about the money and nothing said (in the comments) about getting the ‘medicine’ to people who need it. Always figured the medicinal issue was about making a ton of money while promoting illicit drug use. Funny, I know plenty of Vets who could and some do benefit from using mmj over opioids.

Sunny Daze
Guest
Sunny Daze
7 years ago

Wow, that is as much as a trimmer makes per pound. Is the gov going to start trimming it for that price? And who pays this? Retailer? Grower? End consumer? All three?? And this is on top of the astronomical permit fees to boot.
What do you get for all these taxes?…More cops??? No schools, no roads, no medical care… Nothing.
I support legalization, but I feel the laws that are coming out these days are just more of the same retrick, and just more excuses to bust people, and make a bigger even more oppressive government.
So this has been full swing since the 70’s. The couldn’t stop it since it illegal, what makes them think they are going to stop this when it legal?? Throwing more prohibitive laws on something that is already against the law is not going to stop it now…

It's time.
Guest
7 years ago
Reply to  Sunny Daze

It’s a joke, completely flawed and only for the governments benefit. The amount of patients that actually need this medicine is growing daily. Same with recreational use and the government still wants that large of a percentage. Just use and use and use, and do no work. That’s our system for ya.

Anon Forrest
Guest
7 years ago
Reply to  Sunny Daze

Capitalism is a Wheel. Money in, money out. It’s the way of the current system. Think of all the people employed (feeding off of) this wheel of fortune. There’s the winners, the losers, and law enforcement (as well as the realtors) make it turn. I don’t know of a way to break that chain, but I would sure appreciate knowing if YOU do. af

Sunny Daze
Guest
Sunny Daze
7 years ago
Reply to  Anon Forrest

Unfortunately I do not believe capitalism is a ‘wheel’ it is a piramid, triangle scheme. The top heavy gov and elite at the top, and everyone else stacked on top of each other. Ways around it? I believe there are many. We need to topple the triangle and truely make it a wheel, where our community benefits, not just the Rulers, and elite.
Break the chains? Live simply. Simply step outside the beast. I believe is truely that easy.

THC
Guest
THC
7 years ago
Reply to  Sunny Daze

I think you are confusing capitalism with crony capitalism.

Sunny Daze
Guest
Sunny Daze
7 years ago
Reply to  THC

Kinda feels more like crony canabalism.

brian
Guest
brian
7 years ago
Reply to  Sunny Daze

Canna-balism

Anon Forrest
Guest
7 years ago
Reply to  Sunny Daze

Fifty years ago, it was that easy, and I did it. Going on the advice to “know one’s enemy,” I continued to study the world I left behind. My conclusions about capitalism are well-founded, given the alternate theories possible.
The wild card in this game is population – increasing exponentially now. I actually know people whose babies are now pumping out babies with no more thought for the consequences than the Oakie down the road who thinks his dogs will not be “fulfilled” without the “experience” of litters. My Sweet Jesus. And he identifies so strongly with his male dogs that they are all packing testicles. MSJ in spades.
The Wheel to which I referred is massive and global. Symbiotic parasitism. And out of our control. It exists, and we were/are the fly-wheels.
No one point is accountable, as a pyramid structure suggests. If it were so, revenge and reversal would be easy. af

Rasta
Guest
Rasta
7 years ago

Yup. Just another reason to stay underground. Just like all farming it will eventually be heavily subsidized and all it does is either put farmers into debt or make the big ag run the game. No big ag is good. The only truly sustainability comes with small games with little to no outside input, otherwisr its capatlists bs
Thank is Hezekiah and cronies. Buncha future big crooks that made a buncha illegal money and think they know what’s best. Get a fucking kige and stop thinking you can control others.

PinkAsso
Guest
PinkAsso
7 years ago

I bet only 10% of this tax makes it to the claimed needs of said tax. The rest will be used to fill other budget shortfalls.

Taxed out of business
Guest
Taxed out of business
7 years ago

Wow hezekiah what a slap in the face! You claim to be advocating for the farmer and the small guy but you support this?!?! At least support it behind closed doors and not in everyone’s face that you say you are advocating for. How does this help the small farmer mr Allen? The people you are supposedly fighting for benefit from this how? This is really going to clean up our watersheds? You actually believe that these funds will go to relieve so hum and northern Mendocino and help out people in those communities. I think that you have drank the koolaid and you actually believe you have a seat at the table and maybe one day might try and be a real fake politician. But to me you have shown your true colors. A snake in the grass pretending to be what you are not. 62% goes to enforcement and you believe that is going to help the community you came from. 8% for the Williamson act but we can’t get any funding for schools or roads and you support this? So basically compliant farms and cannabis businesses will be overly taxed and the money will go to bust their neighbors, friends, and community members. This is going to get ugly.

Anon Forrest
Guest
7 years ago

I’ll second that. Cannabis is a crop no different than any other. Having “special rules” to grow almonds or corn or cannabis are bogus, bigoted, and have ulterior consequences in store for participants… Boils down to “if you can’t bust ’em, or stop them, tax ’em to death.” af

Screaming from the mountaintops
Guest

Here is a link to CAnormal at the bottom of the page you can Enter your zip code below to contact your Assembly members and urge them to oppose these measures. Not sure it will work but why not try right?

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/51046/p/dia/action3/common/public/index.sjs?action_KEY=18447

Anon Forrest
Guest
7 years ago

Good on you! Thanks, af

Big Picture
Guest
Big Picture
7 years ago

The worst part is this is only one of the taxes. The county will be levying a $1-2 per square foot tax. In my opinion this isn’t bad, it stays local. But wait, the state is going to add a 15% sales tax on top of the current 8%, 23% total, to the patient. So around 30% for taxes. Then the kicker, the mandated by law distributor and transportation fees courtesy of Big Alcohol and the Teamsters will add an additional 30% fee. The state getting a cut is one thing, private lobbying groups getting an equal cut is what will break the back of the system that everyone is working so hard to build. The losers will be the patients and the farmers. Again, the losers will be the patients and the farmers. Thank you CGA, River, and the Teamsters. We have fought
forty years for you to save the day!!!

Good Luck
Guest
Good Luck
7 years ago
Reply to  Big Picture

Do not forget the County is also going to implement a excise tax, they haven’t determined the structure or % yet.
Then there’s INCOME tax.
Most growers gross revenue will put them in the 25-34% bracket with write offs not allowed for cannabiss companies.

hereforthetreesnottheweed
Guest
hereforthetreesnottheweed
7 years ago
Reply to  Big Picture

Patients? Bullshit. Cry me a river. Truth is the green rush is over. Get used to it.

Futurethoughts
Guest
Futurethoughts
7 years ago

Corporations will always prevail. Not a level playing field. They will produce pot products at a loss to lower prices for as long as it takes to get most to go out of business or sell out to the larger producer. Then they will control supply and prices. Supply will then go down and prices will go back up. Genetic altered pot will be patented and they will do the same thing to pot farmers they did with corn farmers
.

Rasta
Guest
Rasta
7 years ago
Reply to  Futurethoughts

Exactly. Fuck all these groups and politicians
Ccvh, dumboldt farms, Hezekiah, pot money paid for your schooling don’t firget, all you who support these regulations you did it wrong and are now just in the hand of the man.. well, that’s not how the true heads will be living so thanks for nothing… oh wait. The super rich growers already paid off their properties and wanna clear their monies… lame lame lame.

Sleepy Alligator
Guest
Sleepy Alligator
7 years ago

Fuck the “California Gowers Association”! Never trust a cult lead by someone named Hezekiah. If you’re wondering why I say cult just watch “The Secret”. I would bet that Hezekiah has! I am “mom&pop” and these money grubbing elitist do not represent or speak for me. 30% to law enforcement? In other words we want you to pay us to possibly come bust you. No thanks! How about 30% to schools instead.

Sunny Daze
Guest
Sunny Daze
7 years ago

I think this tax is extorsion and it is time for a triangle canna tea party!

gunther
Guest
gunther
7 years ago

How will they tax the thousands of pounds that get smuggled out of California? I guess the legal growers will have to pay to clean up their mess too.

Tax it all!
Guest
Tax it all!
7 years ago

Tax the crap out of it! Please!

Julie
Guest
Julie
7 years ago

If this type of thing keeps moving forward it looks like it will only be doable by corporations and Monsanto will be putting out GMO marijuana before long.