[Vision2020] Where would $1 billion in pot money go if California marijuana is legalized?

[Ted Moffett]

Actually, the article posted to start this thread does indicate "that the
state will save tens of millions of dollars each year in criminal justice
costs if marijuana is legal."  Therefore I did indeed overlook mention of
this issue in the article!
---------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

On Tue, Sep 20, 2016 at 9:22 PM, Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com> wrote:

The question posed in this thread asked where one billion dollars in
> revenue might be spent as a result of taxing cannabis in California.
>
> To declare one billion dollars as a sum of money that would "rarely amount
> to much in the overall scheme of things."
> seems dismissive of the good that might be done with this large sum, even
> if it is 0.6 percent of the California state budget.
>
> The article posted to start this thread on the subject of California's
> Prop. 64 reveals where much of the tax revenue could or might be spent,
> especially "60 percent to prevent young people from abusing substances by
> offering grants to schools and county health programs, funding treatment
> programs, helping at-risk youth and more. Estimated at $450 million or more
> a year."
>
> However, the article, unless I missed it, did not discuss the possible
> savings from fewer criminal prosecutions involving cannabis, and the
> possibility law enforcement and prisons could stand to *lose revenue from
> more legalized cannabis.  *
>
> *Those who are not jailed ending up with a criminal record, as a result of
> the passing of Prop. 64, who would otherwise become "criminals," might be
> considered in the total human impacts of drug laws. *
> --------------------------------------------------
> Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
> --------------------------------------------------
> Prop 64: Adult Use of Marijuana
>
> https://www.kcet.org/ballot-brief/prop-64-adult-use-of-marijuana
>
> The estimated revenue from the sale and cultivation of marijuana is $1
> billion or more annually.  It will also save law enforcement and our prison
> system money  -- about $100 million a year -- because fewer people would be
> prosecuted for marijuana offences..
> -------------------------------------------------
>
> http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/05/19/police-prison-
> groups-worried-california-legalization/54441/
>
> Why police and prison groups worry about California legalization
> Follow the money: half of the funds for an anti-legalization campaign are
> linked to law enforcement groups worried about their budgets
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 9:44 PM, Ron Force <ronforce at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Just to keep things in perspective, $1 billion is 0.6% of the California
>> state budget. "Sin" taxes and lotteries rarely amount to much in the
>> overall scheme of things.
>>
>> Ron Force
>> Moscow Idaho USA
>>
>> On Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 7:11 PM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Courtesy of the *Cannabist* (Denver, Colorado) at:
>>>
>>> http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/09/16/california-marijuana-t
>>> ax-where-would-money-go/63307/
>>>
>>> --------------------------------
>>> Where would $1 billion in pot money go if California marijuana is
>>> legalized?Here’s a quick glance at how Proposition 64 is set up for
>>> spending California marijuana tax if legalized – from local benefits to
>>> other revenue predictions
>>>
>>> If you probe why the polls show a majority of California voters support
>>> <http://www.thecannabist.co/2016/09/13/california-marijuana-legalization-poll/63119/> a
>>> statewide effort to legalize recreational marijuana, increased tax revenue
>>> inevitably comes up.
>>>
>>> UC Irvine student Giovanni Chavez, like many backers of legalized pot,
>>> says he’s primarily concerned about personal liberty and studies showing
>>> disproportionate prosecution of minorities for drug offenses.
>>>
>>> But after watching state and local governments struggle through
>>> recurring budget crises, the aspiring political consultant said
>>> state-regulated marijuana sales would provide a new and needed stream of
>>> tax dollars.
>>>
>>> “We could use the extra revenue,” said Chavez, 21. “And the fact that we
>>> would be able to interfere with the black market is huge.”
>>>
>>> Supporters of legal recreational marijuana use point to Colorado, which
>>> legalized cannabis for adults in 2012. There, taxes and fees on weed are
>>> helping to build schools, repair roads and stabilize city budgets.
>>>
>>> But critics of Proposition 64, California’s legalization initiative on
>>> the November ballot, point out tax revenue from legal weed would be
>>> dispersed much differently here.
>>>
>>> Letitia Pepper, a Riverside attorney who uses medical marijuana to treat
>>> multiple sclerosis but is a vocal opponent of the measure, noted none of it
>>> would be dedicated to the general operations of local governments or
>>> schools.
>>>
>>> Proponents acknowledge California’s measure includes key differences in
>>> how pot funds could be used. But they add that local governments and
>>> students still can benefit from the measure.
>>>
>>> An estimated $1 billion in new tax revenue would be directed toward
>>> specific new or expanded programs such as drug use prevention and
>>> treatment, helping at-risk youth, law enforcement, environmental clean-up
>>> and research.
>>>
>>> Jason Kinney, spokesman for the Yes on Prop. 64 campaign, said the
>>> restrictions on public use of the new tax monies was intentional. If public
>>> agencies were allowed to balance their general spending budgets with
>>> marijuana taxes, he said, it could create an incentive for them to
>>> encourage a bigger marijuana industry.
>>>
>>> “The state of California shouldn’t be forced to rely on increased
>>> marijuana usage to address future K-12 education, infrastructure and other
>>> ongoing budget obligations,” he said.
>>>
>>> Instead, Diane Goldstein of North Tustin – a retired police officer
>>> who’s campaigning for Prop. 64 – argued that tax revenue from the measure
>>> would be wisely used to offset some financial and social harms of the
>>> failed war on drugs via increased investment in education, research and
>>> treatment.
>>>
>>> *REVENUE PREDICTIONS*
>>>
>>> Right now, hundreds of pot businesses operating in California – some
>>> with local permits and many without – are paying state sales tax of close
>>> to 8 percent.
>>>
>>> In 2015, the state took in $58 million in sales tax revenue from some
>>> 974 registered dispensaries, including nearly 400 in Los Angeles County and
>>> 70 to 80 each in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according
>>> to Board of Equalization data.
>>>
>>> That revenue is on track to nearly double this year.
>>>
>>> Under Prop. 64, all marijuana sales would be taxed an additional 15
>>> percent starting Jan. 1, 2018, on top of levies on regulated growers of
>>> $9.25 per ounce for dry flowers or $2.75 per ounce for leaves. Medical
>>> cannabis patients would be exempt from the state sales tax.
>>>
>>> The independent Legislative Analyst’s Office predicts Prop. 64 state tax
>>> revenues would total from the high hundreds of millions of dollars to more
>>> than $1 billion each year.
>>>
>>> That’s less than 1 percent of the state’s annual budget, or about what
>>> California brings in annually now from taxes on tobacco products.
>>>
>>> Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University professor who served on a state
>>> commission that studied approaches for legalizing marijuana, summed up the
>>> financial impact of Prop. 64 this way: “It’s not going to make us if we do,
>>> and it’s not going to break us if we don’t.”
>>>
>>> Tax revenue from legalized weed would first be used to cover “all
>>> reasonable costs” incurred by the state to administer and enforce the
>>> recreational cannabis regulations, according to the ballot measure.
>>>
>>> The Department of Consumer Affairs, which would oversee the new
>>> marijuana marketplace if Prop. 64 passes, doesn’t have an estimate yet of
>>> those administrative costs, according to spokeswoman Veronica Harms.
>>>
>>> The much smaller states of Oregon and Washington spend about $6 million
>>> and $8 million a year, respectively, on their medical and recreational
>>> programs.
>>>
>>> Colorado, which has the oldest and most robust recreational marijuana
>>> market in the nation, is budgeted to spend $16.3 million regulating legal
>>> marijuana this fiscal year, according to Robert Goulding, spokesman for the
>>> Colorado Department of Revenue.
>>>
>>> The program “pays it own way,” Goulding noted, with industry taxes,
>>> licenses and fees covering administrative costs while helping fund such
>>> things as school construction, youth education programs and poison control
>>> centers.
>>>
>>> Still, Prop. 64 opponents, including Orange County Sheriff Sandra
>>> Hutchens, say they’re concerned that tax revenue from legal marijuana sales
>>> won’t cover harder-to-quantify effects on public safety and health issues.
>>>
>>> *WHAT ABOUT LOCAL BENEFITS?*
>>>
>>> One statewide Colorado levy on pot provides cities with money to use as
>>> they choose. That allowed Denver to add $29 million to its general fund
>>> budget in 2015, the Denver Post reports.
>>>
>>> While Prop. 64 doesn’t provide new, dedicated revenue directly to cities
>>> and counties, proponents say there are still ways local governments can
>>> benefit from the measure.
>>>
>>> California cities that permit recreational marijuana businesses could
>>> increase income from sales taxes.
>>>
>>> There also would be opportunities for governments, schools, public
>>> safety agencies and nonprofits in cities that welcome the cannabis industry
>>> to compete for hundreds of millions a year in grants that will fund
>>> substance abuse programs, offset enforcement costs and more.
>>>
>>> Opponents of legalized pot argue all law enforcement agencies should be
>>> eligible for such grants, because the ballot measure would permit
>>> cultivation and personal consumption of marijuana at residences across the
>>> state.
>>>
>>> “They’re still going to have to deal with the problems of home grows and
>>> use, but there’s no money available to them,” said Andrew Acosta, spokesman
>>> for the No on 64 campaign.
>>>
>>> Kinney called such criticisms “disingenuous.” He pointed to a
>>> Legislative Analyst’s Office estimate that the state will save tens of
>>> millions of dollars each year in criminal justice costs if marijuana is
>>> legal.
>>>
>>> The measure also says cities and counties can ask voters to approve
>>> extra local taxes on cannabis.
>>>
>>> At least 18 California cities have already approved such levies on
>>> medical marijuana shops and farms. Among those is Santa Ana, which expects
>>> to collect $1.5 million in pot dispensary fees and taxes this year.
>>>
>>> Another 37 local measures appearing on ballots in the state in November
>>> call for new taxes on marijuana sales or cultivation. Officials predict
>>> those levies could generate up to $22 million a year in revenue for cities
>>> and counties.
>>>
>>> *POT TAX BREAKDOWN*
>>>
>>> After covering administrative costs, here are some uses for the
>>> remaining tax revenue if voters approve Prop. 64:
>>>
>>> • $10 million annually for 11 years for public universities in
>>> California to evaluate the impact of legalization and recommend policy
>>> changes, if needed. Research will cover topics such as public health,
>>> public safety and prices.
>>>
>>> • $3 million annually for five years to the CHP to develop protocols for
>>> determining when drivers are impaired by marijuana, with no good test
>>> available now.
>>>
>>> • $10 million, increasing to $50 million annually by 2022, for grants to
>>> local health departments and nonprofits that support addiction treatment,
>>> job placement, mental health treatment and other services for communities
>>> such as Compton and Oakland that have been hard-hit by previous drug
>>> policies.
>>>
>>> • $2 million annually to the UC San Diego Center for Medical Cannabis
>>> Research to study marijuana as medicine.
>>>
>>> The remaining revenue will be divvied up to include:
>>>
>>> • 60 percent to prevent young people from abusing substances by offering
>>> grants to schools and county health programs, funding treatment programs,
>>> helping at-risk youth and more. Estimated at $450 million or more a year.
>>>
>>> • 20 percent to help state environmental agencies restore waterways
>>> affected by cannabis cultivation and protect public lands from being used
>>> for marijuana activities. Projected to be upwards of $150 million annually.
>>>
>>> • 20 percent to the CHP to train officers for detecting DUIs and to
>>> offer grants to local law enforcement, fire protection or public health
>>> programs in regions where cultivation and sales are allowed. Expected to be
>>> some $150 million or more each year.
>>>
>>> Starting in 2028, legislators could funnel revenue to other programs.
>>> But they could never reduce the dollar amount going to youth programs,
>>> environmental agencies or law enforcement.
>>> --------------------------------
>>>
>>> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>>>
>>> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
>>> http://www.MoscowCares.com <http://www.moscowcares.com/>
>>>
>>> Tom Hansen
>>> Moscow, Idaho
>>>
>>>
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>>
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