10-09-2015, 03:50 PM
quote:
Originally posted by beejee
I would have to agree flyingsurfer, from the article, "For now, that money is tax-free. In January, a 25 percent tax on recreational pot will be added. That money will go to mental health, public schools, police and cities and counties with shops." I'm not sure how much money the states are making at this point, but I suspect it is much less that what we've been led to believe in the media as a pro side-effect of legalization.
Oregon has no sales tax, so tobacco, alcohol and pot will be the only products that pay a sales tax once it kicks in. The SW Washington pot shops just over the border are already seeing a downturn in sales now that Portlanders don't have to drive over the bridge to buy recreational pot. It may not have been legal, but it must be easier than having to have a dealer on speed dial, which was just as illegal. My dad used to talk about the post prohibition era, it looked a lot like this for the first few years until things shook out into dry states and counties and wet ones.
Hawaii would make a lot of money off pot tourism if the politicians ever let it happen. Bed, bud and coffee instead of bed and breakfasts could really work for a lot of small farmers on all the islands if they didn't have to worry about getting busted and having their farms confiscated.