California's Pot is Taxing
Pot is taxed heavily in the Golden State. It is a fixed $162.00 per pound. The price untaxed is $300.00 per pound. “You’re looking at 50 percent of the cost of a pound of cannabis–an additional 50 percent of that is a tax!” said Amber Senter, a cannabis entrepreneur in Oakland, CA.
Governor Newsom stated in January that he is in support of a cannabis tax revamp in the state. He stated, “It is my goal to look at tax policy to stabilize the market. And at the same time, it is also my goal to get these municipalities to wake up to the opportunities to get rid of the illegal market, the illicit market, and provide support in a regulatory framework for the legal market.” https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2022/01/14/california-cannabis-industry-marijuana-gavin-newsom/
Even though there is a lot of positivity in Newsom’s words, business owners are not completely hopeful for change. Current tax laws can only be altered by new voting procedures from the public as well as the legislative branch in California.
Colorado Profits and Celebrates 420
The 15 percent state sales tax revenue from cannabis sales in Colorado are being used towards the state’s school’s. Some of the revenue is used for such programs as bullying prevention and literacy initiatives. There are local taxes allotted from pot sales as well. Those local taxes are taken from the 15 percent state sales tax.
It is time to celebrate in Colorado. The Largest 420 Event reported by The Mile High 420 Festival, will be taking place at Civic Center Park, in Denver, Colorado on 4/20/22. The 100 percent free festival takes place on April 20th. According to the festival’s website, https://flyhi420festival.com/, it is the largest 420 event in the world. According to the site: As the first state to legalize cannabis, Colorado has a unique history with the marijuana movement. As a result, The Mile High 420 Festival draws advocates from around the world. Re-imagining what the holiday has represented in the past, our goal in 2022 is to continue to fight the stigma while celebrating the booming cannabis industry here in the Mile High city. Join us with over 50,000 people as we celebrate the cannabis culture and the future of what continues to be is a flourishing industry for our nation.” The event, which takes place from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. mountain time, can be watched on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/ozzrI6Q-z6w.
VA Wants Marijuana
They are asking for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to grow more research for the therapies which can be used cannabis. The organizations are also asking Congress to remove research barriers for Schedule I drugs that show medical promise, and finally they are asking to end the ban of pot so that VA doctors can guide veterans to marijuana for treatment.
Mr. Greg Heun, National Commander for American Veterans testified at a U.S House hearing on March 2nd stated that: “We call upon the White House and Congress to fulfill their responsibilities to the nation’s veterans by recognizing the inappropriateness of cannabis’ current scheduling and removing it from the Controlled Substance Act, by removing the roadblocks to expanding approved cultivation and research and committing all necessary resources to understand the therapeutic potential of cannabis and bringing those derived medications to veterans as quickly as possible.”
To read Heun’s entire statement to the House sectioned “Cannabis” can be found on page 10 at:
Pot Wins Over Alcohol in Survey
YouGov revealed the results to a question to a study they conducted with adults 18 years and older of various backgrounds this past February on twitter. The question was, “Would it be good or bad if the average American drank less alcohol and used more marijuana?” 27 percent of those questioned stated that it would be good and 20 percent stated that it would be bad. 38 percent stated neither good or bad. The largest percent of age population questioned stated that it was good to smoke more pot were between 30-to 44-year olds. “YouGov is a global public opinion and data company. Explore what the world thinks, discover our solutions, and join our community to share your opinion.” https://today.yougov.com/
