Posted on 12/20/2021 7:49:36 AM PST by SeekAndFind
When California made pot legal, the theory was that pot had become such a normalized part of California culture that it should be treated like alcohol: Adults should be able to buy and use it legally subject to restrictions. However, California also decided to turn pot into a profit center...for California. Therefore, it imposes a cultivation tax on growers as well as a 15% excise tax rate on consumers for any legal pot purchases. California also controls the allowed mark-up rate, which stands at 80%. With the state having imposed these stringent price controls on legal marijuana, is it any surprise that pot growers are going broke?
The Associated Press reported that the big companies are very worried about their continued viability:
Leading California cannabis companies warned Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday that the state’s legal industry was on the verge of collapse and needed immediate tax cuts and a rapid expansion of retail outlets to steady the shaky marketplace.
The letter signed by more than two dozen executives, industry officials and legalization advocates followed years of complaints that the heavily taxed and regulated industry was unable to compete with the widespread illegal economy, where consumer prices are far lower and sales are double or triple the legal business.
The need for more retail outlets is a local issue, since local governments have the right to refuse dispensaries, and many have. According to the same article, up to 2/3 of California cities don’t want marijuana dispensaries in their communities.
The growers, however, know what the real problem is and that’s government interference with the free market:
The current system “is rigged for all to fail,” they [the growers] wrote.
“The opportunity to create a robust legal market has been squandered as a result of excessive taxation,” the letter said.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
It isn;t taxes killing the ‘trade’
It is the bootleg dope (greenshine?) that sells for so much less....
Gee, they never saw it coming...
And yet, they have put up over 40 commercial buildings in Needles California to Grow Weed over the last 5 years or so, somebody is making money. I know a few people with weed stores, they are making bank, one just bought a Citation...
There is a reason illegal stills were a huge deal in the southeast. The amount of tax on a bottle of booze is shocking. In a free market, without these taxes, a bottle of Jack daniels might cost the same as a bottle of milk.
The nice thing about pot is that it is easy to grow your own. VERY easy. I used to back in the 70’s. For the record, I’ve not touched the stuff since 1977 - but if I get cancer...
Meh...pot growers, especially, voted and support this government.
Useful idiots.
Yeah, but how could they know in advance? Are there any lessons from history that they should have considered (cough -Prohibition - cough)?
I don’t smoke, but the people who make cigarettes, I would think, would know how to make a marijuana cigarette.
So, now we have a boot legged business selling who knows what to the consumer....
RE: Meh...pot growers, especially, voted and support this government.
If LEGAL pot growers go bankrupt, do you really think marijuana supplies will suddenly come to a grinding halt?
The problem is not in the SUPPLY side but on the DEMAND side.
Right? It didn’t take a genius to see that the black market would undercut the price of government weed. Especially if there is no penalty for possessing it. I would guess it would be easy to find a dealer. Ask any kid.
Remember that Commiefornia is run (into the ground) by DemocRATs.
History has proven to all of us that when DemocRATs are in control of anything, it soon turns into a steaming pile of shit.
Prove me wrong.
In California it is much cheaper to operate a cannabis delivery service than it is to operate a brick and mortar-type store. And much safer for customers
I’ve always seen marijuana as a special case. I’ve never understood how the government could make it illegal to grow something that literally grows as a weed. Thank God dandelions don’t have THC. “Weed and Feed” wouldn’t be just good for your lawn, it would be the law! 🤣
Cry me a river.
“Are there any lessons from history that they should have considered...”
It is the bootleg dope (greenshine?) that sells for so much less....
And it's the taxes that allow the undecutting. In a free market, economies of scale and the market value of dealing with legal rather than illegal goods and sellers would drive the illegal trade to negligibility - as it has with the legal drug alcohol.
The idiots in California did not “decriminalize” marijuana, they just created new excuses giving price advantages to “illegal” marijuana; and illegal pot farms are popping up everywhere.
California also decided to turn pot into a profit center
Cartels chuckle amateurs we have no stinging taxes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.