Maine slaps 7% tax on pot brownies sold to medical marijuana patients

[Maine-ah]

Source: BDN

AUGUSTA, Maine — Baked or smoked? How patients use their medical marijuana determines their tax rate, according to a recent opinion from Maine Revenue Services.

After Mainers approved medical marijuana, lawmakers decided that marijuana sold for medicinal purposes would be subject to the 5 percent state sales tax. Now Maine Revenue Services has issued an opinion that prepared foods such as brownies that include medical marijuana will be taxed at the higher 7 percent rate. This has many questioning the ruling.

“It again shows how disconnected some people in the taxing department are from the general will of Maine people,” said Paul McCarrier, board member of Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine. He said medical marijuana is just what it says it is — a medicine — and should not be taxed at all.

McCarrier said for some individuals, eating foods that contain medical marijuana is the best way for them to use the medicine. He said smoking or using vaporizers does not work for everyone and patients should not have to pay an extra tax in order to use medicinal marijuana.

Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2011/11/03/politics/maine-slaps-7-tax-on-pot-brownies-sold-to-medical-marijuana-patients/

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poll at the link.

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. Why are they taxing medicines?

Nasty fuckers.

[SadPanda]

2. I thought one of the main arguments on marijuana legalization is it can be taxed?

I really don't see the problem with this.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. Yeh, but Cannabis is not legal for recreation, it is a medicine ONLY

If there's a pot store that sells to anyone, sure, I have no problem with taxing it, but medicine should not be taxed period. Bad precedent.

[Jackpine Radical]

11. Yeah, but as a practical matter, once you get a government hooked

on a new tax, they will look for ways to expand it, and the most obvious way here is to legalize & tax recreational pot. So this tax may be the camel's nose for general legalization.

[yurbud]

16. that's how I see it too.

[No Elephants]

19. No. Taxing a medicine is no indication of any hospitality for legalizing marijuana

for recreational use. It indicates only a hostility to marijuana.

Yes, taxing is addictive, but what if the addiction gets to be about taxing medications, rather than about legalizing marijuano? +

Besides, anyone who believes marijuana has a legitimate medical use should oppose taxing it.

We are already builing enough ways to kill the poor into our budgets.

[No Elephants]

20. +1

[No Elephants]

18. If you do not have a prescription for it, sure, tax it.

No more reason to tax prescriiption marijuana than there is to tax prescription oxycontin.

Probably a lot less reason, in fact. Drugstores get held up for prescription oxy all the time. Have not yet heard of a hold up for prescription marijuana.

Another double standard.

[slackmaster]

28. To bring in revenue

Just like all other taxes.

[underpants]

4. Sounds like how Canada funds healthcare

7% tax on non-food items (as I understand it)

[No Elephants]

21. Canada taxes medicines? This is a medicine in a food.

Prescription marijuana only.

Should be exempt squared in Canada

[diveguy]

5. Do you not pay a sales tax

on any other prescription you pick up.

[kestrel91316]

6. Prescription drugs are not taxed whatsoever in CA. Shame on any state that does.

Same with food.

[beam me up scottie]

7. Tennessee taxes medicine too.

And food.

I thought Maine was more progressive.

[provis99]

8. its a brownie. Call it a junk food tax.

[CrackersMcGee]

10. lewlz.

Good one.

[Occulus]

13. Actually, you have a good point. It's a brownie.

Being that cannabis brownies are, in fact, a food product (as well as a medicine and recreational substance), it would seem to me that the state's food taxation laws (if any) are what should be in play here.

[christx30]

15. Here in Texas

raw food is not taxed. Prepared food gets the normal 8.25% sales tax. So in this case, brownie mix would be untaxed. Brownies with the vital ingredients in (milk, eggs, water, cannibus) would get the tax.

[Occulus]

17. So a prepared package of cannabis brownies would be subject to the tax.

That seems fair. These sorts of taxes have always been one of the main beneficial points of any argument supporting cannabis normalization/legalization.

Maybe we should try letting that work and see what happens :think:

[No Elephants]

23. IIRC, Texas has no state income tax, right?

States that have no state income tax tend to bear down on things like sales tax and real estate tax.

That is a shame, because those taxes are regressive and cannot be anything else, while income tax should be progressive (in the sense of proportionate to amount of income).

I guess real estate tax can be made a little progressive if you give reductions in real estate taxes to poor people, but that causes means testing and public embarassment.

[christx30]

27. The no state income tax thing is nice

I barely even notice the sales tax. It just doesn't seem to hit as much as doing the paperwork while figuring out how much the state is going to gouge you. I mean... think about it. At the end of the year you see that the fed government took 1200 and the state took like 900 or so (I don't know... humor me) and you think it's excessive. But throughout the year you pay 57 cents in tax on a $7 pack of socks, or $28.87 on a $350 TV and you barely feel it. By the end of the year you've paid just as much, but you don't realize it. There's no real difference, but it's less painful, and easily avoided. You can hop on craigs list and get anything you want in good condition and not have to pay it at all. Save some money on the cost of the item too. Why spend $200 on a Wii when you can get a year old one for $75 that someone got tired of?

[No Elephants]

24. I googled. Maine actually does have a prepared food tax, BUT they are taxing the mediciine too

and that ius probably by far the greater proportion of the price, not flour and sugar.

[No Elephants]

22. Why look to justify taxing any food or any medicine?

[CrackersMcGee]

26. 'Raising taxes' is not the enemy. 'Raising taxes' is not the enemy. 'Raising taxes' is not...

Keep repeating until all conservative brainwashing has been nullified.

[crim son]

9. This is Gov. Paul LePage's state now.

If you haven't already, read up on his unethical behavior and teabagger stance. He is a disgusting human being with a disgusting majority in our House. This decision isn't stupid, it's politic.

[frylock]

12. one of the dispensaries here in town charges tax..

it may be the last place standing if the feds and the city attorney have their way.

[Juneboarder]

14. I've always said they should legalize and tax

Besides the obvious benefits, imagine the hemp industry that could thrive.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

25. I call it the

"Number 9, Number 9, Number 9" tax.