[vannrox]

Not a JOKE. This is REAL!

[jocon307]

You're kidding, right. This has to be a joke, or I think the Feds may have some serious problems with the great State of Kansas.

[KS Flyover]

Kansas isn't the only State:

The marijuana dealers tax

Right before the Sweet Potato Tax statute comes LSA R.S. 47:2601 which levies a tax on all dealers of marijuana in the State of Louisiana. Further, the law authorizes tax stamps that must be "affixed to or stamped on marijuana or controlled dangerous substances, or containers thereof."

To quote further from the law: "Stamps shall be affixed by the dealer on the smallest container or package of marijuana or controlled dangerous substance that is subject to the tax, to permit the secretary to readily ascertain by an inspection of any dealer's stock on hand whether or not the tax has been paid."

And how much is the tax? $3.50 per gram and the stamps are available from the Department of Revenue. By the way, dealers are not required to give their name or address when they buy their stamps.

And if a dealer does not have stamps on his goods? In addition to the other criminal penalties, the dealer faces up to five years at hard labor. Although the law seems amusing, the purpose is obvious: to enable additional prosecutions for the same offense. A similar Arizona law was recently overturned.

[templar]

Don't know if it still does, but Oklahoma used to have a marijuana tax stamp.

[KS Flyover]

Kansas State Drug Tax Stamp Project Going Up In Smoke

The Joplin Globe; January 27, 2003

WICHITA, Kan. - The Kansas state budget has been a little strapped lately, but at least the drug dealers have been doing their part.

The state taxes marijuana and cocaine just as it does legal products such as alcohol and cigarettes. And state tax collections on marijuana increased by 3.6 percent, from $139,227 to $144,236, in the first half of this fiscal year. Tax collections on cocaine, methamphetamine and other hard drugs were up 20.6 percent, $252,515 to $304,905.

The state even issues a gold foil "drug tax stamp," showing a marijuana leaf, a vial of cocaine and three pills. The stamps come in handy denominations from $10 to $1,000.

Illegal drugs also have their own tax table. For example, there are three different rates for marijuana: "wet plant," "dry plant" and "processed."

Under the relevant state law, "The drug tax is due as soon as the dealer takes possession of the marijuana or controlled substance," according to the state Department of Revenue's Web site.

Dealers are supposed to "attach the stamp to the marijuana and/or controlled substance immediately after receiving the substance."

The tax allows the state to seek civil penalties from dealers regardless of the outcome of any criminal prosecution, said Bob Longino, director of the Division of Alcohol Beverage Control, the branch of the Revenue Department that administers the program.

Because the tax usually is collected only after a drug dealer is arrested, 75 percent of the money goes to the local law enforcement agency while 25 percent goes to the state general fund.

But no one seriously suggests that drug pushers are buying tax stamps.

"Just about the only people who buy those are stamp collectors," said Sen. Stan Clark, R-Oakley, a member of the Assessment and Taxation Committee.

"My son and I collect stamps, but we didn't want that kind of public exposure," he laughed.

He needn't have worried.

The Revenue Department is aware of the collector interest in its stamps, Longino said. "That's about all we sell."

The Revenue Department also assures that drug stamp purchases are anonymous - - and information is not shared with law enforcement - to protect the stamp buyers' constitutional right not to incriminate themselves in a crime.

(c) 2003 The Joplin Globe
http://www.mpp.org/KS/news_3119.html

[Paulie]

I don't think it's joke at all. It just underscores the desperation that exists for gov't to deal with the entitlement mentality they've created. Nobody really thinks it'll fly, but it's a useful way to ease into the real objective: drug legalization. Then it's easily taxed.

Big mistake, but that's what will happen.

[squidly]

As others have noted, this isn't a new thing. I know that Alabama enacted a similar statute a few years ago.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

FYI, the federal government is the precedent for this.

There is no federal law making hemp (marijuana) illegal.

Since it is a perfectly legitimate crop grown for thousands of years for fiber (by George Washington, for example), the feds knew they could not make it illegal.

Instead, they placed an exorbitant tax on it in the form of a tax stamp.

It's what they'll do to guns someday.

[jmc813]

WOD Ping

[bigduke]

You obviously need to find a better avenue to spend your time. This particular law is a great prosecution tool and without it I can tell you from experience there would be a lot more drug dealers roaming the streets.