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20% Sales Tax Implemented by The Overhauled Massachusetts Cannabis Law
July 18, 2017 MassachusettsFinally, the cannabis law in Massachusetts has come to a verdict. In the meeting held last Monday, the Senate negotiators and the State House reached an agreement to overhaul the voter-approved marijuana law in the state. The new cannabis law will put a maximum of 20% sales tax on retail cannabis.
The six-member committee that attended the conference behind closed doors had already spent a lot of time on this matter. Negotiation sessions were held prior to last Monday but none of them ended in any decision. It literally took several weeks before the two chambers could finally meet each other at a midpoint.
As per the agreement, consumers of cannabis will have to pay 10.75% as an excise tax. On top of that, they will also have to pay a regular sales tax of 6.25%. Furthermore, towns and cities have the option to enforce another 3% as local tax. While things aren�t as bad as they were prior to the negotiations, they aren�t very luring for the end user either, at least not with all the different taxes incurring on cannabis purchase.
There has also been a dispute regarding the control that locals have over the cannabis shops. In places where November ballot question is backed by voters, there is a need for a referendum that would at least restrict if not ban the retail stores of cannabis. However, things will be different in towns and cities where residents have gone against the ballot. In such areas, if the simple vote is cast by the city council or the board of selectmen, it would completely bar the retail shops.
Senator Patricia Jehlen spoke on the matter saying that the government has protected the rights adults have to cultivate, possess, or even use cannabis. Patricia affirmed that the bill has removed barriers that once hindered in the way of legal market development. This has opened a legal and safer supply of cannabis for people.
These newly-imposed taxes are a split of the version of the bill both the House and the Senate proposed. According to the House, the tax on cannabis should have been raised to a minimum of 28%. On the other hand, the Senate was keen to bring it down to a maximum of 12%. The negotiations ended the right in the middle with 20% tax being the higher limit.
Maine Takes Advice on Regulating Cannabis
A lot of US states have already been on the verge of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. However, not all of them have been able to regulate the drug properly. Maine is a good example in this regard. This state has been struggling to regulate the drug properly since it was approved by voters back in November last year.Last Monday, Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee of Maine met with the former marijuana czar of Colorado. The point of the meeting was to discuss Maine�s cannabis policies and how the state should go about drafting it.
Colorado already enjoys the billion-dollar marijuana industry. Andrew Freedman�one of the key players in Colorado�s marijuana industry�has also served as a marijuana czar for the state. As per the reports from NBC affiliate WCSH6, Andrew and the Maine Committee spent about an hour talking. They went through the data from the post-legalization time of recreational marijuana in Colorado.
The findings revealed that adults and youths have not increased the consumption of adult-use marijuana after the legalization. According to WCSH6, nothing of a great statistical significance has been found as yet. WCSH6 said that they were concerned about the potential increase in the consumption, which thankfully did not happen.
Freedman warned the legalization committee that Colorado had to face major challenges when it came to banking, and that Maine could expect a similar fate. Colorado has to identify and combat the pesticides that could have damaged the cannabis crop. To cope with the matter, the state set up rules for homegrown adult-use cannabis. The Maine cannabis legalization committee was also told about the increased emergency room visits in hospitals. Most of the cases that came in had overdosed on the edibles.
Maine plans on wrapping the work up by the end of this month, and have the regulations crafted for the public hearing. The hearing will take place in September. Public opinion is being welcomed by Maine�s agricultural and financial departments on ways to regulate the retail cannabis marketplace of the state. Public opinions are also being taken on budgetary and public health.
With all the effort Maine officials have been taking, hopefully, the state will end up with the best possible regulations for recreational cannabis.
NH governor signs marijuana decriminalization bill
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has signed a new law decriminalizing marijuana, making the Granite State the 22nd in the nation to eliminate the possibility of jail time for those convicted of simple possession.The measure passed the Republican-led legislature with huge majorities in May and June. When it takes effect in about two months, the new law will reduce fines for possession of up to three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana from $2,000 to just $100 for a first or second offense.
New Hampshire is the last state in New England to drop marijuana possession from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil offense. The legislature has considered several decriminalization bills before, but this year was the first time the state Senate took up a version passed by the House.
�There is no good reason to continue arresting and prosecuting people for marijuana possession,� said Matt Simon, who oversees state legislative policy in New England states for the Marijuana Policy Project. �This is a big step toward a more sensible marijuana policy for New Hampshire.�
Voters in Maine and Massachusetts have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, and Vermont legislators are considering their own legalization effort � though a legalization bill stalled in a special session earlier this year. Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut have all passed decriminalization laws.
Marijuana is legal for recreational purposes in Washington state, Oregon, Alaska, Colorado, Nevada and the District of Columbia. In coming months, legalization will go into effect in Maine and Massachusetts, as well as California, where regulators are scrambling to put finishing touches on new rules to govern the nascent industry.
Both red states and blue states have moved to decriminalize marijuana, including states as varied as Delaware, Illinois, Mississippi and Nebraska.