It’s official: The Los Angeles city council is looking to ban its pot and tax it, too.
As our Los Angeles medical marijuana defense lawyers continue to fight the misguided and, we believe, illegal ban on marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, we note that the city is also moving to tax the remaining businesses.
Having passed an ordinance so inept that it has been back to court and its own council chambers on numerous occasions — either looking for validation or making legal changes — it is now looking for tax revenue from what remains.
The Mercury News reports council’s own attorneys warned them the tax would be illegal because the dispensaries are nonprofit and selling marijuana is a criminal activity. But the amateur politicians ignored their own legal advice. Millions will be spent litigating an issue that the state decided was legal nearly two decades ago.
With all of the issues facing the city, council has apparently decided there is nothing more important than drawing the television cameras to chambers for some political grandstanding over who is smoking a joint in the privacy of their own home, under the advice of a licensed doctor.
The issue calls for a $50 tax on every $1,000 in sales at each dispensary. One councilwoman estimates it could raise $5 million. Council is facing a $319 million shortfall.
The CANNABIS LAW GROUP is a law firm dedicated to the rights of medical marijuana patients, collectives and growers and has built a reputation for high-powered, aggressive legal representation of the medical marijuana industry in Southern California. Call 949-375-4734 for a confidential consultation to discuss your rights.