While other cities are going broke, the Sacramento City Council is getting creative. They voted Tuesday night to place a marijuana tax on the November ballot, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Under the measure, medical marijuana dispensaries would pay a 2 percent local business tax, on top of sales taxes they already pay. That new tax – in the form of a new category in the city’s Business Operations Tax (BOT) — would generate between $300,000 and $500,000 a year for the city’s battered general fund, which pays for cops, firefighters and parks.
The ballot measure also would tax other marijuana businesses 5 percent, should a statewide measure also pass legalizing marijuana for adults.
The Mayor of Sacramento, former NBA star Kevin Johnson, probably understands this issue better than most. NBA players often get caught with marijuana.
Kudos to Johnson and his colleagues for their open minds. Ending the drug war should be a priority for all of us. I hope Johnson and company are also supporting Prop. 19, the measure to regulate and tax cannabis.
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