Pubdate: Tue, 17 May 2011
Source: Record, The (Stockton, CA)
Copyright: 2011 The Record
Contact: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=A_OPINION05
Website: http://www.recordnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/428
Author: Walter Sturdivan

MARIJUANA TAX IS JUST SMOKE

It seems the medical marijuana business is not such a great windfall
after all.

If the leaders of the pot business find they can't find a banker to
join in the scheme, wait until the IRS gets through with them.

They do collect taxes, you know! And it's a federal agency as well,
which does not ignore the use of an illegal substance.

With all the clamber about the dangers of tobacco, why push for pot
houses in Stockton? Will the city put the burden of lost revenues and
overspending on the backs of sick people? It's a joke. Will the City
Council join this endeavor, further adding another to the problems of
illness? It appears it already has.

No amount of revenue from this specious practice will ever justify the
harm the city will instigate with a partnership in marijuana
dispensaries.

This moneymaking scheme will, like chickens, come home to
roost.

Walter Sturdivan

Stockton
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.