While intense campaigns on either side of the issue are attempting to swing the March 7 vote, a new report released by the Yes on 820 campaign shows the myriad economic benefits Oklahoma could look forward to, should adult-use cannabis legalization be enacted.

The report, titled, “An Economic Impact and Tax Analysis of Oklahoma State Question 820,” outlines an analysis performed by Vicente Sederberg LLP and the Oklahoma Cannabis Industry Association, finding that the state is projected to gain $821 million in combined medical and recreational taxes, should State Question 820 pass.

Of that $821 million in tax revenue, $434 million would be new state revenue generated through the proposed 15% excise tax on recreational sales, in addition to standard state and local taxes. Adult-use sales are expected to reach approximately $1.841 billion in recreational sales and $2.478 billion in medical sales to qualified patients over that same five-year period.

Looking immediately ahead, Oklahoma is also estimated to bring in more than $65 million in cannabis tax dollars from recreational sales in 2024 alone, after a single year of implementation, rising to $105 million by 2028.

The analysis assumes that recreational sales will begin on January 1, 2024, even though it’s possible they might start sometime in 2023 if enacted. It also cites the state’s current cannabis market’s trials dealing with a downturn in wholesale prices. While it cites that most market observers believe this is temporary, the report assumed a conservative average price per ounce for retail, at $175.

The report predicts that as the Oklahoma market reaches maturity in 2028, the rate of tax revenue will slow down “due to downward pricing pressures from business competition and free market economic principles.” Authors also state that the report’s projected tax revenue is set at a more conservative pace than what other states have realized recently, meaning that the state could potentially generate far more tax revenue than the analysis predicts.

Recreational legalization seems like the next rational step, as the Oklahoma medical market has shown exceptional strength since it was first enacted. The report notes that the state has the highest patient-to-population rate in the country, around 12%, along with its “impressive growth” since voters first approved it in 2018.

Yes on 820 Campaign Manager Michelle Tilley told ABC 5 News that the group doesn’t take the special election for granted. She emphasized the need for an intense final push to ensure Oklahomans in favor get out and vote, knowing that the question may not pass if they sit back.

“We can feel the energy and intensity picking up,” Tilley said. “More and more people are joining the effort wanting to know how they can help.”

The opposition has generally cited concern for Oklahoma’s children; one new-fly formed coalition against recreational cannabis legalization is titled “Protect Our Kids No 820,” joined by Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, former governor Frank Keating, and other officials arguing that cannabis accessibility will actually hurt Oklahomans.

“The practical aspect of it is that it’s just not safe for children, it’s really not safe for any adults. We don’t know enough about what’s being put in these substances. I don’t think the regulation has ever approached what they promised us,” Kunzweiler told 2 News Oklahoma, conveniently failing to cite any research displaying the perceived danger of cannabis for “any adults.”

Tilley argued that SQ 820 will actually be a positive step to protect children, in that each product will be stringently regulated and tested. She also cited that new revenue would help to fund education.

Research has shown that, counter to the DA’s argument, that states with legal recreational cannabis do not see an increase in youth consumption. One 2022 study also investigated the notion that cannabis legalization will result in the reduced perception of risk of harm from cannabis among children, though the results found that individual, child-level characteristics were the main indicator around youth attitudes toward cannabis, not state policy.

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New York is poised to collect $1.25 billion in revenue from taxes on legal cannabis sales, according to a budget projection from Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul released on Tuesday. The revenue projections are included in the state budget for next year, which includes significant investment in projects designed to continue the economic and social recovery from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“We have the means to immediately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as embrace this once-in-a-generation opportunity for the future with a historic level of funding that is both socially responsible and fiscally prudent,” Hochul said in a statement from the governor’s office.

New York’s state budget for the 2023 fiscal year, which is detailed in an 85-page briefing book from the governor’s office, anticipates $56 million in cannabis revenue, including $40 million collected from license fees on cannabis businesses. State lawmakers legalized recreational cannabis last year, and since taking office in August Hochul has vowed to expedite the regulation of adult-use cannabis stalled by Andrew Cuomo, the former governor who resigned last summer because of a sexual harassment scandal.

Over the next six years, the governor’s office predicts that the state will collect more than $1.25 billion in revenue from taxes and fees on recreational cannabis, with the annual total increasing as more producers, processors and retailers launch their operations. Cannabis tax revenue is expected to increase to $95 million in fiscal year 2024 and reach an estimated $363 million in 2028.

New York Budget Projections Include Revenue from Cannabis ‘Potency Tax’

The taxes on New York’s cannabis industry include a nine percent excise tax and another four percent tax for local governments. The state’s regulations also include a separate tax on THC, with the amount of tax collected rising as the potency of a product rises.

David C. Holland, a New York attorney with extensive experience in cannabis policy and law, says that the “THC potency tax at first seems like the state gouging revenue but, in fact, some view it as being an ingenious, recession-proof tax for the state to receive predictable revenue.”

Holland explained that the tax on THC is levied at a rate ranging from $0.005 (one-half of a penny) per milligram of THC up $0.01 (one cent) per milligram, depending on the form of the cannabis product (i.e. dried flower, extracts or edibles). For example, an edible with 10 mg of THC would be assessed a tax of 10 cents, while a 100mg edible would be taxed one dollar. The THC tax is levied on wholesale transactions, when products are transferred from distributors to retailers.

Holland, who is also the co-founder and president of the NYC Cannabis Industry Association, noted that the tax on THC provides the state government with a revenue stream that is not dependent on the ups and downs of the economy.

“What makes it recession-proof is that the price per pound of cannabis, whether $1,000 in times of shortage, or $200 in times of surplus is irrelevant—the tax on potency remains a constant due to the THC concentration of the raw or processed product, and that tax is uniform across all product lines,” Holland wrote in an email to High Times.

“As such, the tax is really a more predictable revenue source for the state and insulates it against the boom-and-bust cycles of crop cultivation and the idiosyncrasies of market consumers in the forms of cannabis they choose.”

Revenue raised by the nine percent state excise tax will be divided among several social programs, with 40 percent going to education, 40 percent to community reinvestment, and the remaining 20 percent devoted to substance abuse treatment. Income from the additional four percent tax will be shared by local governments, with counties receiving 25 percent and 75 percent going to cities, towns and villages. 

The launch date for legal sales of adult-use cannabis in New York has not yet been determined, but is expected to come later this year or in early 2023.

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Before squeezing cannabis potency, let’s lower alcohol content to marijuana levels.

The post Is it time to regulate alcohol like marijuana? appeared first on Leafly.

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There’s no evidence that cannabis companies negatively impact their communities. So why are they paying massive impact fees?

The post Massachusetts town charges local cannabis companies $866,000 for “policing” appeared first on Leafly.

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