Pubdate: Thu, 07 Nov 2013
Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN)
Copyright: 2013 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.timesfreepress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/992
Note: Paper does not publish LTE's outside its circulation area

WEED'S TAX POTENTIAL ATTRACTS NEW ALLIES

DENVER (AP) - Colorado's hearty embrace of a 25 percent marijuana tax 
this week could prove a turning point for legalization backers. 
They've long argued that weed should come out of the black market and 
contribute to tax coffers instead of prison populations.

But it's far too soon to say how much revenue the marijuana taxes in 
Colorado and Washington will actually produce when retail sales begin 
next year.

A tax windfall in the two states could win over skeptical states that 
may be interested in pot legalization but wonder about costs of 
regulation. On the other hand, if many pot smokers in Colorado and 
Washington stay in the black market to avoid taxes, supporters could 
lose a major plank of their longstanding argument that legalization 
will take money from criminal cartels and benefit government programs.

"It's a crucial question," said Sam Kamin, a University of Denver law 
professor who served on a panel that helped write Colorado's 
marijuana regulations. "There's this premise that marijuana 
legalization can be a net-net win, spending less money putting people 
in prison and seeing a tax benefit from the sale of marijuana. Voters 
are going to expect to see both."

Colorado's vote Tuesday showed it wants the benefits, even in a 
tax-adverse state that typically rejects proposed taxes.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom