Pubdate: Thu, 15 May 2014
Source: Boston Herald (MA)
Copyright: 2014 The Boston Herald, Inc
Contact:  http://news.bostonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53
Note: Prints only very short LTEs.
Author: Matt Stout

$TAKE IN THE GRASS

Dem Sen Calls for Tax on Medical Weed

Eyeing the millions of dollars the medical pot shops will start 
raking in this fall, a top Democratic lawmaker is pushing a measure 
to tax the weed - and quick, before industry lobbyists can block the bill.

State Sen. Brian A. Joyce - who wants all pot sales to be subject to 
the 6.25 percent sales tax - said he's adding his amendment to the 
Senate budget that was released yesterday.

"The reality is it's better to clarify this ahead of time than try to 
remedy it later," the Milton lawmaker told the Herald yesterday. "I 
don't know if there's any organized opposition to this interpretation 
that other states have followed, but I expect there will be once 
these entities are up and running. They'll have paid lobbyists and 
folks fighting and resisting the change."

Joyce, who chairs the Senate committee on bonding, said the proposal 
falls in line with 10 other states, including New England neighbors 
Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine, which do not exempt medical 
marijuana sales from taxes.

In all, 22 states have legalized pot for medical purposes, and of 
those with a sales tax, only Illinois exempts it, according to Joyce's staff.

Joyce said the move could generate nearly $6.5 million in tax revenue 
in its first year and $15.8 million by year three - estimates he 
called "low" given the law allows for up to 15 more dispensaries. He 
based his figures on the state's 20 provisional license applications 
that have been approved.

He is calling for the money to be funneled into a trust fund to go 
toward drug treatment and addiction services, not "for any nefarious 
purpose of fattening state government."

But the proposal is already drawing fire from advocates who helped 
push the 2012 ballot initiative legalizing medical marijuana. They 
argue the state is already raking in $50,000 in annual fees from each 
of the 20 dispensaries, and earning more shouldn't come on the backs 
of consumers.

"Suffice to say some patients are looking at costs upwards of 
thousands of dollars a month," said Matthew J. Allen, executive 
director of Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance. "To put a tax on 
medicine that could disproportionately harm a population that is 
already struggling financially, it's just wrong."

Michael Cutler, a Northampton attorney with the National Organization 
for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said too high a tax could also push 
buyers into the black market - the exact thing legalization is 
intended to stop.

The Senate is slated to begin debate Wednesday on the $36.25 billion 
spending proposal released yesterday. Senators have until tomorrow 
afternoon to file amendments.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom