The Desert Sun
The city of Palm Springs has placed Measure B on the upcoming ballot asking the specific question of whether medical cannabis collectives should be taxed. Although no one filed an argument in opposition to the ballot measure, many people in the community have since asked why there should be a tax on collectives at all.
The reality is quite simple — all taxpayers, whether they use medical cannabis or not, have been footing the bill for allowing medical cannabis collectives to operate. Palm Springs, as the only city in the Coachella Valley to allow lawful medical cannabis collectives, has become the target of numerous unlawful dispensaries and our citizens pay an enormous cost. In fact, the cost of regulating legal collectives and closing down unlicensed illegal dispensaries has run into hundreds of staff hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal and enforcement costs. All of these costs have been borne by our citizens via the general fund.
Measure B is a general tax. This means general fund money that could have been used for road improvements, public safety, parks or other community improvements and services have been diverted over the past several years, balancing the needs of compassionate access for our sick citizens and enforcement of basic zoning laws. For example, it took more than two years to close down one single illegal cannabis dispensary on Palm Canyon Drive.
More than 20 unlawful or “pirate dispensaries” have opened in Palm Springs and have been shut down through numerous court battles. We expect that these pirate operators will continue to ignore city ordinances and open wherever and whenever they want for years to come, and our citizens will continue to bear these costs.
Because of the high costs of regulation and enforcement, voters in many California cities have approved taxing medical marijuana dispensaries as a way to continue to help patients through legal collectives. Examples include Stockton, San Jose, Vallejo, La Puente, Los Angeles, Oakland, Richmond and Sacramento.
The proposed measure will allow a tax of up to 15 cents on the dollar. This will allow the city to set an appropriate rate that works cooperatively with current and future permitted collectives, while penalizing illegal dispensary operators who threaten patient and neighborhood safety and burden the city with significant enforcement costs.
Let me be clear: Measure B specifically does not allow any patient, collective member or caretaker to be taxed. This is a tax only on income of the dispensary owners and/or operators.
Palm Springs is known as a diverse and welcoming city which prides itself on being a “compassionate” community. I’m asking you to vote yes on Measure B so we can continue to assist those in our community suffering with debilitating medical conditions in a legal and safe way.
Steve Pougnet is the mayor of Palm Springs. You can reach him via email at [email protected]
