California

[T.Baggins]

so..... i don't get the whole "legalize it and tax it" thing...... I'm taxed out my ass in this state... state income tax, federal income tax, state sales tax.... car tax, property tax ,school tax, tax, tax, tax,tax, tax, tax! so now you want me to pay tax on my meds too ..... how much of my pay check do they want! how much will they let me keep is more like it...... they are about to approve a 1-cent sales tax increase expecting to generate $5.8 billion through the middle of next year,an additional 5 percent in state income tax to raise $3.3 billion,Vehicle license fees would rise from 0.65 percent to 1 percent, bringing in an additional $1.5 billion. Motorists would also see an increase of 12 cents per gallon at the fuel pump ($2 billion)....... maybe we should change the name of this state to cant-afford-ya..... but, I'm just curious why most all yall wanna send MORE money to state? do you think a tax on pot would even pay for all the new agencies, payrolls, and regulators, and all lobbyists?

 

[B. Self Reliant]

I'm with you 100%.

I don't think that a lack of funds is CA's problem, so no, I don't think that taxing cannabis (or any other meds) would help. I also don't think that isolating the debate of individual issues will work, meaning that the state's financial trouble is linked to every other issue in the state, and the country for that matter. People want to debate the issue as a stand-alone topic, without acknowledging that government spending is the real issue here.

I wish I could say that I had more faith in the gov't as a whole than I do, but the bottom line is that the country is in financial ruin for a reason. I personally don't believe that the reason is a lack of taxation. Despite the fact that I would lose a large percentage of my annual income, I'm all for legalization, but I don't think that cannabis should be taxed. Not only would it not be the answer to the state's/country's financial problems, but it is a plant and it should be free for everyone to take advantage of.

 

[kmk420kali]

I think they mean Sales Tax-- If we want to be legal, we at least have to pay sales tax on our purchases--

 

[yesIah garvey]

i hear a lot of people say "yeah legalize it and tax the *hell* out of it"

fuck that! let's just legalize it

i'd be so glad if my county went bankrupt... but as that's happening they may get very motivated to try even harder to seize funds, property, etc...

 

[B. Self Reliant]

I think they mean Sales Tax-- If we want to be legal, we at least have to pay sales tax on our purchases--

Ahhhhhhhhhhh. . . . yes, sales tax is somewhat understandable I guess. I know some items have extra taxation, and that would be tough to do with cannabis. I don't ever see people wanting to go buy a pack of joints. I see a legal atmosphere being more similar to the wine industry. Plus, after years of prohibition, the growing culture is as engrained as the smoking culture, so there would no doubt be others like me that would want to grow their own, even if it was legal.

 

[PondeLftHndSide]

Most people I know, even some very heavy medical users, have never grown and have no intention of growing in the future, legal or not. They have grown accustomed to and want to smoke the best and don't mind paying for it.

Not only that, but a lot of otherwise intelligent people I know can barely boil a pot of noodles, let alone put in the kind of sustained care and effort it takes to grow, harvest and cure top-notch connoisseur smoke. Think about it - how many beer drinkers do you know? Now how many home brewers do you know? Probably a good 20:1 for some folks, and then can that one brew worth a shit?

If cannabis were legal for adult recreational use, the vast majority of consumers would probably want to purchase their smoke rather than grow it. But I'm sure many would be added to our numbers once they discovered the joys of working with this amazing plant.