Photo: Neeta LindIt’s not often that you see a quote like this.
Referring to a new tax that will fall squarely on the shoulders of his business and just a few others, Steve DeAngelo said in a CNN article,
And we decided to step up to the plate and make a contribution to the city in a time of need.
Remarkably, DeAngelo is not just willing to pay this new tax, he actually led the effort to get the tax approved. His business will now have to pay $350,000 in additional taxes next year because of the new tax.
Why is DeAngelo so eager to pay these taxes? I’m almost certain it is not because he is an altruist.
The real answer, I suspect, is that he is generating $19 million a year in revenues selling in a market (medical marijuana) that is barely legal. And DeAngelo probably suspects that taxation will increase the likelihood that his business remains legal, for two reasons.
The first reason is that taxing a good implicitly says that the government acknowledges the legitimacy of the activity; we tax legitimate goods, and we fine and imprison those who sell illegitimate goods. Second, while experts suggest that marijuana itself is not very addictive, new sources of tax revenue surely are addictive! So once the revenues start coming, government won’t want to turn off the spigot.
I’m curious to hear from blog readers who have information on how much these medical marijuana clubs charge. I wouldn’t think it would be very expensive; marijuana on the street is as cheap as can be.
Can someone explain to me how one club generates $19 million in revenues a year? There must be a lot of sick people out there.
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Tom and Jackie are both right. Many reasons were used to justify criminalizing a plant that grew wildly and freely in the US.
It’s not that experts ‘suggestions’ – any expert will tell you that marijuana is not addictive and cannot be addictive, regardless of its potency. It’s only when you add fearmongering politicians into the mix that you get such unfounded rumors.
It’s not that easy to get a fake medical marijuana ID. At a club/bar, generally the bouncer doesn’t scan your ID and check it against a database, which is what they do in states that have medicinal marijuana laws. Every system has holes, but this one is much more robust than people give it credit for.
@Jackie, if you look at the history of drug policy, it actually is pretty racist. Pretty much every recreational drug that is illegal today was legal over a century ago, and many were used by the elite and ruling class. Paper and cotton may have been the lobbying motivations of Hearst, but that certainly was not the tactic used (racist propaganda), and racism and drug prohibition are inseparable nowadays .
I dislike the tendency to read racism where it does not apply, but the issue of drug policy is certainly one where it does. Look at the extremely disproportionate number of minorities who are in jail for nonviolent drug charges compared with the rates of use. (For example, contrary to popular belief, crack use is not drastically higher among blacks than whites).
And it should be emphasized that, even if the price in a club is greater than the street price, there are a lot of people (especially patients) who’d trade the higher price for the security and convenience of an authorized, taxed club.
Do any of the experts know whether these clubs offer “Organic” pot? That’s something I’ve been wondering about for some time.
I am a medical marijuana patient/user and have been to multiple dispensaries in both Orange County and San Diego County. I have seen prices range from $45-$65 per 1/8th ounce. I have seen prices for a full ounce start at about $300.
I agree with Kevin regarding the willingness of patients to spend more for the security and convenience of a “legal” club.
Pot club prices are in parity with street prices. only you generally get a much better selection.
Yahoo! I hope they take the money.
I also hope that , with the billion dollar or so cut to the California prison system, the first people they release early are non-violent marijuana offenders.
PS… it is absolutely not physically addictive. Not to say you won’t get psychologically addicted to it, but it’s nothing like tobacco. Not even close.
This isn’t responsive to your actual question, but getting a “recommendation” is apparently trivial in my pro-marijuana area of California.
According to a local attorney (who supports this and has referred clients to her), a local physician parks her car on the street in front of a marijuana shop most mornings, and writes (for free, or a few dollars) a recommendation for unlimited marijuana to anyone that asks for one.
We also have a much more ethical marijuana organization that limits itself strictly to people that have well-documented, very serious, and usually terminal health problems (usually late-stage cancer and AIDS), but only about 1 in 1,000 residents qualify under that rule.
being from the bay area i’m just your girl to help you out. all clubs are different. they are all run a little differently and have different pot much of the time and different prices. and eighth can run anywhere from $30 to $100 depending on the club, the city, the number of choices there, the quality and so on.
and @ Travis: the feds DO come in and shut down clubs in california. it’s incredibly irritating. but it hasn’t stopped the ones that aren’t stomped to keep running, or new ones to pop up.