LONG BEACH COUNCIL BACKS MARIJUANA TAX MEASURE

LONG BEACH -- When Long Beach voters join other Californians in
November to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana, they
may also get the chance to decide if it should be taxed.

The City Council took a step Tuesday night toward putting a marijuana
tax measure on the ballot that would levy a 15 percent tax -- bumped
up from a proposed 10 percent -- on the recreational drug and a 5
percent tax on medical marijuana. City officials don't know how
revenue the tax would raise, but they're looking for every penny to
help eliminate an estimated $18.5 million budget deficit in the next
fiscal year.

However, getting the medical marijuana tax onto the ballot may prove
to be a challenge.

The council voted 8-1 to have a public hearing on the proposed tax
Aug. 3, when the council will vote again on actually placing it on the
ballot.

A key requirement, and the one that may derail the medical marijuana
tax, is that the council must unanimously declare a fiscal emergency
in order to place a measure on the ballot that only needs 50 percent
voter approval. The other option is to put the tax on the ballot
without a fiscal emergency resolution, which would require a much more
difficult two-thirds voter approval.

A single council member could block the fiscal emergency vote, and on
Tuesday it was Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske who cast the single vote
against the tax proposal.

"I have great difficulty now taxing something that we have said is for
medicinal purposes," Schipske said.

The council approved strict new regulations for medical marijuana
collectives in March that require them to register and limit where
they can be located.

Councilman Robert Garcia was the only other council member to speak
out against the proposal, citing the same concerns, but he said he
would vote to have the hearing next month when the council can fully
vet the issue.

Although medical marijuana advocates and patients didn't turn out in
droves Tuesday as they did in the months leading up to the council's
vote on collective regulations, a handful showed up to plead with the
council. They said that just as regular prescription drugs aren't
taxed, medical marijuana, which is a necessity for many people,
shouldn't be taxed.