Virginia’s governor is moving ahead with a push to legalize marijuana for adults. If the legislature signs on, Virginia would become the first state in the South to legalize marijuana, according to Gov. Ralph Northam.
A new report from a Northam administration work group outlines options for licensing and taxing the marijuana industry. It estimates this could bring in millions in taxes. Five years after legalization, the cannabis industry could contribute $274 million a year in state taxes, the report estimates, and boost Virginia’s economy by as much as $1.2 billion dollars.
The report envisions a tiered tax on marijuana at the retail level: the higher the level of the active ingredient, THC, the higher the tax. The work group recommended the tax be high enough to cover the costs of regulating and ensure the product is free of adulterants, but not so high that it drives dealers to keep selling the drug illegally.
Advocates said sellers right now are completely unaccountable.
“They don’t pay taxes or check IDs, and they certainly don’t label their product,” Jenn Michelle Pedini, executive director of NORML Virginia, a group that’s been advocating for marijuana legalization for decades, said.
The Northam administration said the legislature should consider setting aside a certain number of sales and production licenses for social equity, to ensure the new industry does not reinforce racial disparities.
Good idea unlike maryland that goes out of its way to keep the black market in bussiness.
There are a lot of VERY affordable Cannabis stocks and Funds that are on the recent upswing.
274 mill +? Cmon gov. What u smoking bub? Folks from the I95 corridor, WVA, MD, PA, DE, DC will flock to the state like they do for gas and cigs. Dont kid a kidder blackface. Mary Jane and Casinos.
Cha cha chaaa ching.