SENATOR PROPOSES TAXING ILLEGAL DRUGS

Stamp Act Would Allow State To Tap Into Drug Money.

JEFFERSON CITY - Sen. Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph, has pre-filed a bill
targeting the bank accounts of drug dealers in Missouri.

The act requires drug dealers to pay a stamp tax on each gram of illegal
drugs in their possession. The stamps would be purchased anonymously and be
valid for three months.

Shields said he doubts that dealers would even purchase the stamp should
the law pass. And that's the point.

"The idea is not to actually sell the stamps," he said. "But rather to go
after the dealers' assets when they are caught without a stamp."

The bill targets drug dealers over individual users because the dealers
typically have larger assets, Shields said.

Mexican trafficking organizations control a large part of the distribution
of methamphetamines, cocaine, marijuana and heroin in Missouri, according
to the DEA web site.

Should a person be caught with drugs and without a stamp, the Department of
Revenue director can issue a warrant to immediately collect the amount due
with an additional charge of 100 percent of the amount previously due.

Each gram of marijuana would be subject to a $3.50 tax. Other controlled
substances would be taxed $200 for each gram or portion of a gram. For
drugs not sold by weight, such as Ecstasy, every 50 doses would be taxed
$2,000.

The revenue from the tax would be divided between the state's general
revenue fund and the Missouri Foundation Formula - which distributes aid to
Missouri's public schools.

"The bill would not be a huge money raiser for the state but would allow us
to tap into the vast amounts of illegal drug money circulating through the
state," Shields said.

A similar bill was passed in Kansas in 1987. Last year it collected
$883,846 in revenue from people arrested in possession of drugs without
stamps and $370 in stamp sales.

The $370 sold in stamps weren't necessarily bought by drug dealers, said
Pete Bodyk, operations officer for the Kansas department of alcoholic
beverage control.

"A good majority of the stamp sales were from stamp collectors and news
organizations," Bodyk said.

There are 23 states that have passed similar laws, according to Allen St.
Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws.

St. Pierre said he sees fault in the law because it taxes citizens for
drugs that are illegal to possess.

"It provides little to no money for the states and is an abject failure in
stopping drug use," St. Pierre said.

The act will be brought before the legislature during the 2004 session that
begins Jan. 7.