I’m to give a paper and talk on marijuana revenue policy in Rome at the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy meeting in May. Here’s what I’m thinking (comments welcome). ++++ State monopoly, Uruguay style, is the safest start for legalization of an intoxicant. But it’s not easy. Corruption and cronyism threaten. Transparency … Continue reading “Marijauna: Uruguay Si! Taxes No!”
The Oregon Legislature took a hard look at marijuana legalization in early 2014, but failed to act. So November voters may get to choose between legalization initiatives with dueling revenue ideas. The Control, Regulation, and Taxation of Marijuana and Industrial Hemp Act (CRTMIHA) puts marijuana commerce in the hands of private sellers — and taxes … Continue reading “Marijuana Revenue: Oregon 2014 — from HuffPost”
State monopoly of sales of an intoxicant would maximize revenue and limit the profit motive. That’s the model in 17 U.S. States for liquor, and in the Nordic countries for most alcohol. This comes from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquor_store (here), so it must be true: All Nordic countries, except Denmark, have government-owned alcohol monopolies. Denmark – Alcoholic beverages can be bought at any grocery … Continue reading “Liquor Monopolies in Nordic Countries”
Results of poll commissioned by the Center for New Revenue and conducted by Public Policy Polling: “If marijuana were to be made legal in North Carolina, do you think should it be taxed more than alcohol and tobacco, less than alcohol and tobacco, or about the same as alcohol and tobacco?” Should be taxed more………………………………. … Continue reading “NC Poll: Tax Marijuana at Least Like Alcohol and Tobacco”
Huffington Post blog entry they just posted for me here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pat-oglesby/marijuana-advertising-the_b_3810341.html How Denver City Council voted 13-0 to ban outdoor marijuana advertising: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/medical-marijuana-ads-under-attack-denver Here’s the text of the HuffPo piece: Marijuana Advertising: The Federal Tax Stalemate “Marijuana Industry Eager to Pay Taxes — and Cash in on Deductions” says a recent McClatchy headline. There’s a … Continue reading “Marijuana Advertising: The Federal Tax Stalemate”
Excerpts from his Foreword to the book by Fosdick and Scott: I was born a teetotaler and I have been a teetotaler on principle all my life. It is my earnest conviction that total abstinence is the wisest, best, and safest position for both the individual and society. In the attempt to bring about total abstinence … Continue reading “Toward Liquor Control — John D. Rockefeller, Jr.”
The most sensible and cautious approach to marijuana legalization, it seems to me, is state monopoly. Monopoly short-circuits the great motivating force of capitalism, the profit motive, and can operate without advertising. And monopoly allows for instantaneous price adjustments to combat bootlegging. But in the USA, states are scared that the Federal Government would shut … Continue reading “U.S. Federalism Fails at Experimentation: Marijuana Revenue in Uruguay”
Among the threats facing marijuana legalization in Washington State is regulatory capture, a likely consequence of “market consolidation in which a few firms dominate the whole industry.” The dangers of regulatory capture appear in America’s alcohol and tobacco industries — politically powerful enough to weaken regulation and taxes and economically powerful enough to manipulate demand.
“President Jimmy Carter, at a meeting . . . predicted the experiments in Washington and Colorado would go badly. In his speech Friday, Carter was more cautious about what could happen in Colorado and Washington.” Marijuana would be taxed less than cigarettes in both states. That’s kind of a red flag. That’s just the tip … Continue reading “Jimmy Carter, Marijuana, and Revenue”
The most fertile ground for sensible legalization is in the handful of states that don’t have medical marijuana, voter initiative, or private liquor stores. 1. No legal medical marijuana. Ongoing, permanent special rules for medical use make no sense under full legalization. But medical use is a box canyon, as they say out West – … Continue reading “Eight States, three criteria: The best chance to control marijuana”
The Center for New Revenue is in the early stages of thinking about a conference on marijuana revenue that would assemble folks from the entire spectrum of views on legalization. Here is a draft list of issues: Monopoly vs. Taxation Whatever the advantages of the monopoly model, most states are choosing tax and regulate … Continue reading “Conference on marijuana revenue: List of issues”
“Setting tax rates in the initiative [was] unwise and inflexible. We should reconsider this approach and allow the LCB [Liquor Control Board], in partnership with the state Department of Revenue, to have the flexibility to adjust tax rates in a more real-time fashion for the first few years in order to prevent under or overpricing the … Continue reading “Best Marijuana Tax Plan Yet From An Elected American — WA 2013”
Posted here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pat-oglesby/a-way-marijuana-dilemma_b_2490720.html: Pat Oglesby Tax lawyer; Founder and president, Center for New Revenue A Way Past the Marijuana Dilemma
For a couple of years, I labored (literally) under the impression that proposals to legalize marijuana might need high revenue to pass.[1] I got that impression from the repeal of alcohol Prohibition, where “revenue considerations, when joined to the desire to eradicate the evils that grew out of prohibition, . . . gave the repeal … Continue reading “Marijuana Legalization and Tax: I Was Wrong”
Folks who hoped marijuana legalization would go away have had a rude awakening. The victories in Washington and Colorado make the headlines, but the 46 percent yes vote in Oregon for a ridiculous legalization plan is the big shock. Voters are desperate for change. Oregon’s Measure 80 had no taxes. It would have set up … Continue reading “Marijuana Is Not Going Away”
“Tax” is no longer at the bottom of the label barrel. Proponents of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, http://octa2012.org/oregon-cannabis-tax-act-legislation/, just approved for the November 2012 ballot, deliberately put “Tax” in the title – but not in the Act. The Act provides for a state monopoly to sell marijuana (and a state monopsony to buy it) … Continue reading “Shocking: The “Tax” Label Is a Plus”
The ruling party in Uruguay seems likely to act, according to press reports: “If approved, Uruguay’s national government would be the first in the world to directly sell marijuana to its citizens. Some local governments do so[?].” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/uruguay/9346047/Uruguay-government-announces-plan-to-sell-marijuana.html A monopoly provides the advantage (over taxes) of instantaneous price adjustments that can accelerate the death of … Continue reading “Revenue from marijuana — Uruguay”
