Colorado residents are scheduled to vote on whether a 15 percent excise tax should be implemented on marijuana, as well as another 10 percent sales tax funding pot enforcement in the state today, Nov.5.
During the national election in 2012, Colorado voters decided to legalize recreational marijuana use. This was only legal for citizens 21 years or older, making it possible for adults to have up to an ounce of the drug.
The possible new tax on marijuana will help fund school construction in Colorado. Since most of the population does not smoke the drug, results will most likely come out in favor of the 15 and 10 percent tax.
There are some people, however, who believe the tax is unfair. Some residents believe that marijuana should not have a higher tax than beer, which is 8 cents per gallon. But the taxes are a good way to show people that marijuana can be beneficial to the community, if it helps out with public services.
If the tax does win the vote, it could encourage a black market. With the amount of anger some marijuana users could have over the new tax, it will push them into buying from a black market even more than they have been already. People in disagreement with the tax will obviously choose to buy from a market that does not make them pay more.
However, if the tax does get approved, it could possibly generate around $70 million in the upcoming year. This would be huge for funds with school construction. As much as people don’t like being taxed, it would be going towards something that is beneficial to Colorado’s community.
It does bring up one question: Is it really fair to tax marijuana higher than alcohol? They’re both controversial substances, right? Most people tend to agree that alcohol is much more damaging to the body than marijuana is. On the other hand, it’s clear a significantly higher amount of people buy beer than marijuana. It would only make sense to implement a higher tax on cannabis.
At the moment, no one really knows for sure how users will really be affected by the new tax. Although it could push for a black market, it’s usually a good idea to keep things like drugs regulated as much as possible.