USA Wrap: Tax, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon

TAX

Title: The Lure of Local Cannabis Revenue Does the promise of cannabis tax money change voters’ minds on legalization? One case study suggests that it does

Author: Cannabis Wire

Date: 13 July 2018

URL: https://cannabiswire.com/2018/07/11/the-lure-of-local-cannabis-revenue/

Extract:

The promise of cannabis tax revenue has featured prominently in numerous state campaigns as a reason to support legalization, and recent polling in New Jersey shows that potential tax revenue is the top reason voters there claim to support the idea. However, there has been little direct evidence of just how much the promise of revenue really moves voters.

But here is another piece of the puzzle: A Cannabis Wire analysis of how more than 200 Oregon precincts voted on marijuana legalization in 2014 compared to how those same precincts voted on local cannabis business bans in 2016 shows how the possibility of marijuana tax revenue may have contributed to a dramatic shift in voting behavior.

FLORIDA

Florida medical marijuana processors scrambling to avert suspensions

MAINE

The Legislature returned on Monday, July 9, for what is known as “Veto Day,” to take up all legislation the Governor had vetoed, to overturn or to sustain his decision.

Last week, Governor LePage announced he was vetoing LD 1539, the comprehensive medical marijuana update bill, for a list of 11 reasons. The Governor noted that it was not an exhaustive list of his objections to the bill, but would be supportive of “standalone legislation that immediately brings more oversight into the medical program, its caregiver participants, and provides the framework necessary for a medical program to coexist rather than cannibalize each other.”

At the same time, Governor LePage issued a veto for LD 238, citing concerns about it “posing a significant risk to the public since the legislation allows inherently hazardous materials to be used during extraction.”

During the veto override session, the House voted 119-23 and the Senate voted 25-8 to override the Governor’s veto of 1539. The law will go into effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session. The House voted unanimously, 144-0, and the Senate voted 31-3 to overturn the Governor’s veto of 238; that bill, which was enacted with an emergency preamble, became effective immediately.

MASSACHUSETTS