subject: How to Save Municipalities: Ask Oakland [print this page] How to Save Municipalities: Ask Oakland How to Save Municipalities: Ask Oakland
The November Prop 19 Vote looms large in Califrornia, and I wish I was still living in San Francisco so I could vote for Prop 19. I would like to see small cities and muicipalities have more income, and less reason to arrest Americans for silly Pot violations. It seems each day I read about an athelete or dentists career ruined because of an arrest related to marijjuanna. It is silly, and we all know it. The days of rationalizing that alcohol is less dangerous than grass are near over and California ( as usual) leads the way.
In Oakland, where voters will consider a new levy on marijuana businesses, the city's four dispensaries generated $3.01 million in sales taxes in the past fiscal year, including more than $308,000 that went into municipal coffers, according to Karen Boyd, the city's communications director.
San Jose's ballot measure would impose a tax of as much as 10 percent on gross receipts of marijuana businesses to pay for road paving, parks, senior programs and other city services. The revenue potential from legalizing the drug is hard to project, since it hinges on variables such as the tax rate, the number of marijuana businesses and their receipts, said Michelle McGurk, a spokeswoman for San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed.
Proposition 19 would let Californians grow the plant on as much as 25 square feet (2.3 square meters) of land per residence or parcel for personal use and not for sale. It would allow local governments to license retail sales and regulate commercial cultivation, according to a state voter guide.
Small public companies like US Cannabis who is currently operating as LLUX are watching the vote closely and will also contribute to the tax base. We have been following this vote very closely and will continue to track important information and developments before and after the vote.
