By now I am sure you have heard that State Attorney General John Suthers announced an official legal opinion on Tuesday, stating that medical marijuana can be taxed. Many marijuana dispensaries, reacting to the announcement that their product can now be taxed, embraced the decision, hoping it will help legitimize the industry.
So why would marijuana dispensaries be happy about seeing their product taxed?
I think this is more about embracing future potential rather than worrying about the effect of taxes on your patients. The ability to tax medical marijuana will change the opinions that most cities have about dispensaries. Instead of being driven from cities with over-regulation, the red carpet will be rolled out for these new cash cows.
But this doesn’t answer why the dispensaries would be happy about this new tax. I think the big reason is that this is an extraordinary step towards full legalization of marijuana. Some would argue that we have already legalized it, with just a few necessary hoops to jump through. Opponents may be worried that this is going to lead to greater addiction and more problems.
But, if you think marijuana and other drugs can be addictive for users, wait until you see how addictive pot tax dollars are for cities. Once they get a taste, they will only want more, and they will do just about anything to get more. No matter how you roll it, cities will be lining up to attract dispensaries faster than 22 year olds suffering from chronic back pain at a dispensary.
This mentality will help grease the skids for more lax laws regarding how to get marijuana, applying just enough “medical” terms to make it look just savory enough.
Suthers’ ruling was never about the legal definition of prescription. This has been about getting control over an industry that quickly spun out of control from cities and communities. Attorney General Suthers can’t regulate it, but the decision he was able to make was much more powerful than any regulation.
His decision makes dispensaries indispensable for cities and then gives cities the means to regulate the industry, once the legislature provides a few handy guidelines. I know some lawmakers have been reluctant to tackle this topic, but trust me, it will happen. Citizens would like it to happen, but now cities desperately need it to happen so that they can safely make more money off of the issue.
The only question for me that remains is will taxing dispensaries be a gateway drug for cities? You know how addictive their personalities can be. Is it just a coincidence that there is a new tax on soft drinks being floated at the state capitol? All we need to do is tax Cheetos at a higher rate and the pot smokers of Colorado will single-handedly pull our state out of a recession. I guess Bill Ritter was right. Colorado can recover if we just think green!