Councilwoman Janice Hahn is leading an effort to impose a tax on marijuana sales as Los Angeles officials look for ways to close a gaping structural deficit in its budget.
Hahn, who represents an area from San Pedro to Watts, made a motion Wednesday to explore taxing revenues of marijuana dispensaries.
"We're always looking for a way to raise more revenue," Hahn said, noting the tax could bring in millions of dollars. "The legitimate clinics don't mind this. They feel like it makes them more legitimate, and more a part of the city family."
The city has imposed a moratorium against marijuana dispensaries, but hundreds of clinics have opened anyway in recent months thanks to a "hardship" exemption in the city ordinance.
The council is now trying to shut down those clinics, which number more than 500, prompting an outcry from dispensaries and their supporters.
Hahn said the marijuana tax - which would have to be approved by the voters - is aimed at the approximately 200 clinics that opened legally before the moratorium was approved, and is not intended to legitimize the "hardship" clinics.
Tyler Roberts, the co-owner of The CannaVerse, recently opened his club in San Pedro under a hardship exemption. He said he is worried that the city will deny the exemption when it comes up for a hearing.
"I would love to pay a tax and to be able to know that my store is just as legitimate as the locksmith next door to me," Roberts said. "If it straightens out this hardship exemption crap they've got us going through, I would be all for it."
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has offered a bill to tax marijuana statewide, much like alcohol or cigarettes. State tax officials believe a $50 per ounce tax would generate $1 billion a year in new revenues, which would help close the state's budget gap.
The city of Oakland is also moving forward with a 1.8 percent tax on revenues at the city's four dispensaries. Officials believe that tax, which is on the city ballot next week, will bring in $400,000 a year.
Stewart Richlin, an attorney who has represented many marijuana clinics in their battle against the city of Los Angeles, said that any new tax should be modest.
"The power to tax is the power to destroy," Richlin said. "If it's going to be an unusual or unreasonable tax, it's going to lead to people going to the black market."
Richlin suggested that the revenues should be earmarked for drug education or subsidies for low-income patients who cannot afford marijuana. He objected to likening marijuana to "sin tax" items like alcohol and cigarettes because he believes marijuana ought to be regulated as a prescription drug.
Dispensaries currently pay business license fees and sales tax.
Councilmen Dennis Zine and Bill Rosendahl joined Hahn in making the motion. Rosendahl would like to see the federal government drop its objections to state laws permitting medical marijuana laws. He also said he favors taxing the "hardship" clinics for as long as they are allowed to stay in business.
"If citizens come to me with complaints, I support shutting them down," Rosendahl said. "If people don't complain, I'm not going to go make an issue out of it."
He said he had joined police officers on a visit to a dispensary in Venice to check compliance with city laws.
"To see the prices that they have," he said, "one would think there could be a very handsome revenue stream for the city."
News Hawk: MsRedEye: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Daily Breeze
Author: Gene Maddaus
Copyright: 2009 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact: Contact Us - The Daily Breeze
Website: Hahn wants to tax LA marijuana dispensaries - The Daily Breeze
Hahn, who represents an area from San Pedro to Watts, made a motion Wednesday to explore taxing revenues of marijuana dispensaries.
"We're always looking for a way to raise more revenue," Hahn said, noting the tax could bring in millions of dollars. "The legitimate clinics don't mind this. They feel like it makes them more legitimate, and more a part of the city family."
The city has imposed a moratorium against marijuana dispensaries, but hundreds of clinics have opened anyway in recent months thanks to a "hardship" exemption in the city ordinance.
The council is now trying to shut down those clinics, which number more than 500, prompting an outcry from dispensaries and their supporters.
Hahn said the marijuana tax - which would have to be approved by the voters - is aimed at the approximately 200 clinics that opened legally before the moratorium was approved, and is not intended to legitimize the "hardship" clinics.
Tyler Roberts, the co-owner of The CannaVerse, recently opened his club in San Pedro under a hardship exemption. He said he is worried that the city will deny the exemption when it comes up for a hearing.
"I would love to pay a tax and to be able to know that my store is just as legitimate as the locksmith next door to me," Roberts said. "If it straightens out this hardship exemption crap they've got us going through, I would be all for it."
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has offered a bill to tax marijuana statewide, much like alcohol or cigarettes. State tax officials believe a $50 per ounce tax would generate $1 billion a year in new revenues, which would help close the state's budget gap.
The city of Oakland is also moving forward with a 1.8 percent tax on revenues at the city's four dispensaries. Officials believe that tax, which is on the city ballot next week, will bring in $400,000 a year.
Stewart Richlin, an attorney who has represented many marijuana clinics in their battle against the city of Los Angeles, said that any new tax should be modest.
"The power to tax is the power to destroy," Richlin said. "If it's going to be an unusual or unreasonable tax, it's going to lead to people going to the black market."
Richlin suggested that the revenues should be earmarked for drug education or subsidies for low-income patients who cannot afford marijuana. He objected to likening marijuana to "sin tax" items like alcohol and cigarettes because he believes marijuana ought to be regulated as a prescription drug.
Dispensaries currently pay business license fees and sales tax.
Councilmen Dennis Zine and Bill Rosendahl joined Hahn in making the motion. Rosendahl would like to see the federal government drop its objections to state laws permitting medical marijuana laws. He also said he favors taxing the "hardship" clinics for as long as they are allowed to stay in business.
"If citizens come to me with complaints, I support shutting them down," Rosendahl said. "If people don't complain, I'm not going to go make an issue out of it."
He said he had joined police officers on a visit to a dispensary in Venice to check compliance with city laws.
"To see the prices that they have," he said, "one would think there could be a very handsome revenue stream for the city."
News Hawk: MsRedEye: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: The Daily Breeze
Author: Gene Maddaus
Copyright: 2009 Los Angeles Newspaper Group
Contact: Contact Us - The Daily Breeze
Website: Hahn wants to tax LA marijuana dispensaries - The Daily Breeze
