IT'S SENSIBLE TO TAX MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Now that Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has ruled that
governments can collect taxes on medical marijuana sales, the state,
cities and counties ought to proceed full speed ahead to do so.

It's been nearly a decade since Colorado voters approved the sale of
medical marijuana to people who need it for chronic pain and other
medical conditions.

The medical marijuana industry got a slow start because what Colorado
voters approved was contrary to federal drug laws. The federal
government has now said that it will not interfere with state laws on
this matter.

That's why Colorado communities including Longmont are seeing an
explosion of medical marijuana merchants setting up shop. The Longmont
City Council in October approved a three-month moratorium on
additional marijuana establishments until the council can devise local
ordinances to regulate them.

But there's no reason to delay collection of sales
taxes.

Under state law, even the sales of illegal drugs are subject to sales
taxes, although for obvious reasons they are never collected.

In the case of medical marijuana, Suthers ruled that its sale is a
personal property transaction and not a prescription drug transaction.
This is important because prescription drugs are exempt from sales
taxes.

Since medical marijuana is not handled by licensed pharmacies and not
subject to the same laws that affect pharmaceuticals, there's no
barrier to charging sales tax.

The state expects to collect $15 million a year in marijuana sales
taxes. Local governments would collect upward of $45 million.

Governments at all levels are hungry for more tax revenue given the
downturn in economic activity in the state. And while applying new
taxes to business is not a wise plan during an economic downturn, in
this case it makes no sense to grant a special exemption to a business
that Colorado voters have said can exist in the state.