An old friend who stayed in tax policy work as I went and came says a place to start studying the carbon tax is THE DESIGN OF A CARBON TAX, by Gilbert Metcalf and David Weisbach.
The authors “recommend full or partial delegation of rate setting authority to an agency to ensure that rates reflect new information about the costs of carbon emissions and of abatement.” That approach is in line with my view that we don’t yet know enough about marijuana markets to set tax rates by legislation. Taxing either substance will be a trial-and-error process.
The Center for New Revenue 