Six weeks away and I've heard no real discussion on this issue.
On March 7th there will be a special election in Sonoma County to pass (or not) taxes on the cannabis industry in our county. Details can be found on the SoCo gov't website here. (scroll down to Dec 20, 2016, the 5th issue- Cannabis Business Tax Ord [it is a PDF and I can't link to it directly] )
Also found at the awesome resource Ballotpedia.
I have no idea how this one will go. We have those that vote against ANY tax. We'll have those- both in and out of the industry that want to tax the industry. We'll have those, mostly in the industry, opposed to any taxes. On and on...
So, I figured I'd start a discussion here. To be clear- I'm in the industry. Mom & Pop boutique orga..wait not allowed to use that word- the feds own it- grown without any synthetic inputs...a full time job and then some...and I could still make more in private industry.
I don't think the taxes are perfect. The ability of them to be raised dramatically terrifies me. But that said, I will be voting for them.
A simple truth many need to come to terms with- if these taxes don't pass - it will accomplish what the police and prohibitionists never could- it will destroy the SoCo cannabis industry. Without this tax- SoCo will not issue permits. Without a county permit- you can't get a state one.
If this tax measure fails it will essentially mean every aspect of the cannabis industry will become illegal in 2018, with no legal way for businesses to operate under county or state law.
This is something people need to educate themselves on and understand the full ramifications of what they will be asked to vote on.