Preserving the record: Local votes on marijuana taxes in California in 2016

For history, here are results of local votes on marijuana taxes in California at the time of legalization in 2016– from http://www.drugsense.org/dpfca/votersguide1116.html#LOCALS.  Voters liked marijuana taxes better than they liked marijuana legalization. At the end is more detail about counties’ results.

In summary, here’s the percentage of votes for local taxes vs. votes for statewide Proposition 64. These are all the counties where a direct comparison is available.

  • Calaveras County 67 for local taxation vs 47 for Prop 64
  • Humboldt County 70 vs 67
  • Inyo County 65 vs 49.8
  • Lake County 62 vs 59
  • Mendocino County 64 vs 54
  • Monterey County 74 vs 64
  • Santa Cruz County 80 vs 69
  • Solana County 80 vs 58

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PRESIDENTUS CONGRESSSTATE LEGISLATURELOCAL RACESLOCAL BALLOT MEASURES

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LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES

Also see: Ballotpedia on local tax measures

Adelanto – Measure R would impose an excise tax of up to 5% on all types of commercial marijuana activities. PASSED 67-33%

Avalon – Measure X would permit up to two medical marijuana dispensaries, and permit the delivery, cultivation, manufacture and processing of medical marijuana products, subject to a $10,000 annual license tax and a 12% transaction fee/tax on each individual medical marijuana sale. FAILED 36-64%.

Butte County – Measure L would permit commercial cannabis cultivation, distribution, manufacturing and transporatation in most zones, while prohibiting outdoor cultivation in residential zones and establishing an exemption for personal cultivation of up to 100 square feet, and collective cultivation of up to 500 square feet. Read more. FAILED 42.5-57.5%.

Calaveras County – Measure C would impose a $2/square foot commercial cannabis tax on outdoor/mixed light cultivation until the state establishes a track and trace program, at which point the tax will be $45/pound of dry weight trim and $10 per pound of dry weight trim; and $5/sq ft. on indoor culivation until a track-and-trace program is implemented, at which time the tax will be $70/lb. of bud and $15/lb. of trim; and a 7% on gross proceeds from manufacturing or retail medicinal or legal cannabis. Would require legal water source and compliance with regulations issued by the Water Quality Control Board, Fish and Wildlife, etc.  PASSED 67-33%.

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Hard questions about THC taxes

What if the best way to tax cannabis is by potency, by applying a tax rate to measured quantities of intoxicants, like  of THC?  Two hard questions loom. Should the same per-milligram tax rate apply to intoxicants in various forms of cannabis products like raw plant material (like flower) and concentrates and edibles? And what tax rates should apply to cannabinoids other than delta-9 THC, like delta-8 and delta-10?  

For the second question (Let’s say the best way to tax cannabis is by potency, by applying a tax rate to measured quantities of intoxicants, like  of THC?  What tax rates should apply to compounds other than delta-9 THC, like delta-8 and delta-10 and HHC, based on relative intoxicating power?) here’s a quick answer (that I in no way vouch for, because no one knows) from perplexity.ai, based apparently on https://therichardrosereport.com/cannasearch-daily-news/:

To design an effective cannabis potency tax framework that accounts for different intoxicating compounds like delta-8, delta-9, delta-10 THC, and HHC, tax rates should reflect their relative psychoactive strength and metabolic impacts. Here’s a science-based approach informed by current research and existing tax models:

Relative Intoxicating Power & Tax Multipliers

CompoundPotency Relative to Delta-9Proposed Tax Multiplier*
Delta-9 THC1x (Baseline)1.0
HHC0.7x-0.8x0.75
Delta-8 THC0.5x-0.6x0.55
Delta-10 THC0.3x-0.4x0.35

*Multipliers adjust tax rates based on compound strength compared to delta-9