Senate Bill announced today

[armedoldhippy]

a bill is being introduced in the Senate to completely remove cannabis from the Schedule of illegal drugs. the House has previously done something nearly identical, but their bill never got a vote in the GOP controlled Senate at the time. whenever cannabis legalization is put to an honest vote after a vigorous public debate, it wins...an incredibly large % of the citizenry poll in favor over & over. nearly a year ago (Nov. 2020), it was at 68% according to Gallup. translate that to votes & you are looking at a veto-proof margin. now, if we could just get our "representatives" to vote for what we want instead of what the lobbyists pay them to do.

 

[dank.frank]

Except, that bill is a piece of garbage that places a federal "sin tax" on anyone who manages to be successful at growing. 12.5-25% tax rate. It's extortion. Not legalization or decrim or really even beneficial to anyone except massive corporate outfits that can afford to absorb the tax while the smaller-medium sized operators are bled out of any operable profit margins.

Hate to say it - if that is the bill they are pushing - it doesn't serve us - it serves them. As much as legalization to some degree is a worthy goal at a federal level, this current legislation is trash.



dank.Frank

 

[Nannymouse]

I did read into it a little. Supposedly, the small business will only pay half the taxes of the bigger outfits, as it is, now. Probably will go through changes, and more changes and then get blocked somehow, anyway. Even if it ends up on the president's desk, he may veto. However, there needs to be more ways to pay for all the infrastructure needs.

I recall from WAY back, where people were saying that taxing weed could be the way to get us out of debt and were all for it, if only it would get legal. And i was for that, depending on stuff, but a fed tax of 25% on top of state and local, almost sounds like...unfair taxing, but i will need to look into how much taxing goes on in the liquor and ciggy worlds.

 

[Nannymouse]

Okay, one site that i looked at said that total taxes on beer was about 40% of the final cost. Spirits was over 50%. Cigerette state taxes average about 1.91 dollars per pack, often with excise tax on top, with federal tax at 1.01 dollars per pack.

 

[armedoldhippy]

Okay, one site that i looked at said that total taxes on beer was about 40% of the final cost. Spirits was over 50%. Cigerette state taxes average about 1.91 dollars per pack, often with excise tax on top, with federal tax at 1.01 dollars per pack.

yeah, nothing is free. as i have said DOZENS of times oh here, RE folks that are mad because proposed legislation is not "perfect" in their opinion; you take what you can get & keep working. if you refuse to take small steps to start your journey, you never leave your house. legalize, then start working to liberalize... you cannot allow the utopian concept of "perfect" stop you from keeping folks out of jail...which would be a pretty good step in my mind.

 

[CosmicGiggle]

....... you cannot allow the utopian concept of "perfect" stop you from keeping folks out of jail...which would be a pretty good step in my mind.

There will NEVER be a decriminalization/de-schedule bill that doesn't include a relatively high tax, never!

 

[Amynamous]

The masses consume Budweiser and Marlboro and will probably be happy with mass produced dispensary weed.

I doubt many of us would be greatly affected by taxes on dispensary weed. lol

 

[Cuddles]

There will NEVER be a decriminalization/de-schedule bill that doesn't include a relatively high tax, never!

hey, let´s hope you´re about this one, shall we? (even tho your prediction is probably correct...)

 

[zachrockbadenof]

and ofcourse it will be de-crim on the federal level.... but the bill will leave it up to the states to de-crim...

 

[dank.frank]

yeah, nothing is free. as i have said DOZENS of times oh here, RE folks that are mad because proposed legislation is not "perfect" in their opinion; you take what you can get & keep working. if you refuse to take small steps to start your journey, you never leave your house. legalize, then start working to liberalize... you cannot allow the utopian concept of "perfect" stop you from keeping folks out of jail...which would be a pretty good step in my mind.

Ah. Yes. The old bend over and take it philosophy that got us to where we are today. Fuck the idea of us taking an active role in what that looks like vs being spoon fed a piece of legislation that has the hallmark of not a single constituent that doesn't end in .INC

Yeah. I get small steps. I also understand getting f'ed the last 40 years and watching medical get dismantled in the name of recreational and watching TRUE access disappear under legalization measures that create stricter penalties for growing outside your allotment than what currently exists for simply just being a fucking POS criminal...

You want to sit here and act like they are on your team. That makes you either complicit or a moron. Not that either is true - just my take on your response.



dank.Frank

 

[St. Phatty]

There will NEVER be a decriminalization/de-schedule bill that doesn't include a relatively high tax, never!

But there is an advantage to this form of re-legalization.

Un-taxed Cannabis looks the same as Taxed Cannabis !

Also, GIFTING is legal.

Just give your non-grower friends a QP and see how they respond.

 

[buzzmobile]

I can brew 200 gallons of beer with no license, tax, registration...

Treat Cannabis like beer.

 

[armedoldhippy]

Ah. Yes. The old bend over and take it philosophy that got us to where we are today. Fuck the idea of us taking an active role in what that looks like vs being spoon fed
You want to sit here and act like they are on your team. That makes you either complicit or a moron. Not that either is true - just my take on your response.
dank.Frank

frankie, you can sit there & bitch because nothing is perfect, or you can work toward making them better than they are now. i'm not acting like they are my "team"; i'm using what tools are in the box. refusing to help do what you can to improve our lots is pure chickenshit. just my take on your response...

 

[HempKat]

There will NEVER be a decriminalization/de-schedule bill that doesn't include a relatively high tax, never!

I don't know about that a good start on legalization in the US would be to just remove it from the schedules but leave legalizing sales up to the states. Although honestly that would be rather short sited because once it's free of Federal roadblocks most states will want to take advantage of the cash cow legal marijuana represents so it would be foolish for the Federal government to not also cash in and all the extra revenue even at reasonable tax rates would go a long ways towards funding all sorts of much needed legislation without having to raise taxes on individuals. Perhaps one way around the issue would be to stop giving Federal money to bolster state budgets for states that allow marijuana sales since the monies the states gain should be more then enough to replace it and of course the Federal Government could just tax all the new businesses that spring up just like they do any other businesses. Of course States will resist that because they'll want to keep getting that Federal aide.

For me as someone who would be looking to go into business all I really care about is that they remove it from the schedule so I can grow my own without going to jail and so banks can start working with existing marijuana businesses so they can grow and flourish the same as any other business. As long as I can grow my own without fear of jail then frankly I don't care if they keep it illegal for me to sell. Besides with what we've seen from states that have legalized the system that decides who gets to become a legal business is likely going to be rigged against the average guy regardless of the taxes.

The way I see it, if it ever gets legalized across the country with no restrictions eventually all the little guys will get squeezed out anyway from making money off of it. That's what happened with beer, liquor and tobacco and it will almost surely end up the same for Cannabis. So let the big companies fight over it all they want just as long as I can produce my own if I choose to go to the trouble of doing so. All the corporations really care about is control of the sales of it and to that end they don't really care about the limited few that are willing to grow their own just so long as they can't sell it. Just like breweries don't try to force people to not be able to brew their own beer or Farmers don't try to prevent people from growing their own food. The average citizen will happily buy from stores so they don't have to do the work of self sufficiency.

 

[armedoldhippy]

For me as someone who would be looking to go into business all I really care about is that they remove it from the schedule so I can grow my own without going to jail and so banks can start working with existing marijuana businesses so they can grow and flourish the same as any other business. As long as I can grow my own without fear of jail then frankly I don't care if they keep it illegal for me to sell. Besides with what we've seen from states that have legalized the system that decides who gets to become a legal business is likely going to be rigged against the average guy regardless of the taxes.

i'm with you. stop arresting folks for possession and personal grows, and make sales of seeds/clones legal. when they realize the world didn't catch on fire & burn down after legalization, it will get more liberal. i'd buy a permit to home-grow like the hemp farmers do. here, it is $250 yearly to grow up to 5 acres. 5 FUCKING ACRES! i could live with that. a man could make hand-rubbed hashish the old-fashioned way with that big a patch. i know, however, that it won't be that liberal in the beginning, maybe not ever...dammit!

 

[Amynamous]

i'm with you. stop arresting folks for possession and personal grows, and make sales of seeds/clones legal. when they realize the world didn't catch on fire & burn down after legalization, it will get more liberal. i'd buy a permit to home-grow like the hemp farmers do. here, it is $250 yearly to grow up to 5 acres. 5 FUCKING ACRES! i could live with that. a man could make hand-rubbed hashish the old-fashioned way with that big a patch. i know, however, that it won't be that liberal in the beginning, maybe not ever...dammit!

I cannot recall all of the specifics, but I believe it’s currently possible in Oklahoma. The license will cost $2500, but I don’t believe they have plant count limitations.

EditS. Oklahoma only has medical, but the bud doctor can cite any reason they choose.
I would pick Reggaemylitis.

 

[HempKat]

i'm with you. stop arresting folks for possession and personal grows, and make sales of seeds/clones legal. when they realize the world didn't catch on fire & burn down after legalization, it will get more liberal. i'd buy a permit to home-grow like the hemp farmers do. here, it is $250 yearly to grow up to 5 acres. 5 FUCKING ACRES! i could live with that. a man could make hand-rubbed hashish the old-fashioned way with that big a patch. i know, however, that it won't be that liberal in the beginning, maybe not ever...dammit!

Yeah well that would be way more then someone only growing for their own personal consumption would need and that's what I'm talking about. I get that there are those among us in this comminity that have elevated cultivation of cannabis to a very high level (no pun intended) that might want to cash in on those acquired skills and I don't fault them for wanting to do that but seeing how things have been going in the states that have legalized those people will mostly be squeezed out anyway while limited licensing is handed out to elite wealthy investors and even then many of those people will get squeezed out later on by big corporations. So in light of all that I'm not even thinking of monetizing this hobby but rather just being as free to pursue it as I am to pursue a vegetable garden or home brewing.

I just want to be able to grow without having to spend extra money to hide that I'm growing so I don't have to worry about my neighbors calling the cops on my because they got a whiff of my latest crop. Or worrying about someone recognizing my plants if I choose to grow outdoors or the power company reporting suspicious usage of energy for a home of my size.

Now to be clear I have nothing against people turning their hobby and experience into a profitable business it's just that it has nothing to do with my needs. Plus if they are successful they become just one more entity with a vested interest in keeping me from growing so I can become one of their customers. The way I see it, there will always be plenty of people who for one reason or another are perfectly happy to be someone else's customer but please allow those of us willing to take care of our own needs to do just that. For that I don't even need 1/4th of an acre let alone 5 so I would prefer to not have to pay for a license just to grow my own weed.

 

[armedoldhippy]

"i would prefer to not have to pay for a license just to grow my own weed." i agree. VA is not (from what i have read) going to require a permit to grow their 4 plants per household. the number should be higher, i think everyone would agree. what if it is a couple, he likes sativa, she likes indica. why not 4 for each of them? i guess you could have one of each flowering, and one of each in veg...but what if one of them died, or was eaten by deer? "tough shit" seems to be the states attitude "go buy some." (and don't forget our taxes) TNs $250 covers 5 acres for hemp, no plant count. a $50 stamp should cover 2 or 3 dozen plants easy...which is way the hell more than i could smoke per year, lol.

 

[120Octane]

Oh my god becky... Sniffle n snizzle, wipes snotty knose, tears of a todler boo hoo hoo they will tax it....Lmfao how do you think the first state went medical, damn sure was not drum circles around a camp fire hahaha....

I can tell nobody has read the proposal...I mean, why is it me who is saying the first 10 lbs are not jail prosacustions for cultivating,manufacturing or selling...

Those of us that are still in a illegal state today are preying sweet baby jesus give this bill to us..

For those under 15 years as a grower,you best step that game up or be left behind...Big or small you best have quality...

 

[BarknPunkin]

"Render unto Caesar...."

What I do with the Holy Fruits of the soil is between me and The Great Spirit. No one else.