Bad press and taxes in LA
July 16th, 2009 | by Don Duncan |Two stories should raise an eyebrow for medical cannabis patients and advocates in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The LA Weekly ran an expose on the “wild west” medical cannabis situation in Los Angeles. The article features a “patient” diverting medicine and a very unfortunate depiction of a Hollywood collective/ministry. This article is more fuel on the fire for medical cannabis opponents. We can expect it will influence the PLUM Committee and full City Council in their deliberations regarding hundreds of hardship applications and permanent regulations. Medical cannabis collective operators and patients must be careful in what they present to the media. Not all press is good press. One individual’s fifteen minutes of fame may have serious consequences for everyone in the community.
A second story in the Daily Breeze announced Councilmember Hahn’s proposal to adopt a new city tax on medical cannabis. The Councilmember seems to be following the lead of the Oakland City Council, which recently placed a similar measure on the ballot at the urging of local cannabis collectives. The collectives hope paying extra tax will garner favor in the public eye, and some advocates think the proposal creates an incentive for jurisdictions to tax and regulate collectives instead of ban them. The verdict is still out on both counts. What is clear is that there is no consensus among collective operators or patients about the proposal. Tax-paying operators may balk at more over head, and patients have a reasonable fear that collectives will pass along the cost to the end user. Much more debate is needed before the community gets behind this proposal.
Tags: collectives, Los Angeles, los angeles city council, oakland city council, PLUM committee, tax compliance
