The San Francisco Chronicle carried several stories this weekend on the mail-in voting which closes this Tuesday on a new ordinance in Oakland for a special tax on sales of marijuana at medical pot dispensaries in the city. The most in-depth article is Oakland Finds Peace With Its Pot Clubs.
The proposed Oakland ordinance is seen as an incremental step toward complete legalization. It would create a new business-tax category in Oakland for cannabis sellers that could bring the city several hundred thousand additional dollars a year in revenue. The SF Chron article concludes this way:
"I don't think it's a turning point ... but it starts the ball rolling," said Oakland City Attorney John Russo, who as a City Council member helped tighten regulation of the dispensaries. "As cities start taxing pot and making money, other government entities are going to start asking: 'Why aren't we getting in on this revenue stream?' "
Yes, why aren't we? Hello, Sacramento!
The SF Chron article states
Oakland is now in the vanguard of medical marijuana, only this time as a model of tranquility. On Tuesday, the balloting will close on Measure F, which would make Oakland the nation's first city to have a business-tax category for cannabis operations.
Until now, the dispensaries have been paying a baseline rate of $1.20 per $1,000 of gross receipts. Passage of Measure F would create the separate category for cannabis business, at a rate of $18 per $1,000 of sales. The dispensaries already assess sales tax on purchases.
The cannabis dispensers all support the new tax, as a way to legitimize their business. An interesting but fully expectable development is that the area in which the four existing medical pot dispensers are located has become known as Oaksterdam and is drawing both locals and out of towners to the area to the benefit of other merchants in the area.
I visited my sister-in-law and her husband this weekend who live in the Oakland hills. My sister-in-law, no flaming liberal, informed me she had sent in her ballot on Measure F and voted "Yes." If she is voting yes, I expect the measure to pass with ease.