The push to legalize pot for all has deeply divided the medical marijuana community

LA Times on Oct 4, 2016 – Excerpt:

Many growers, dispensary operators and customers of the existing medical cannabis market oppose the measure, arguing it undermines the intent of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which allowed marijuana to be used for medical purposes.

Dennis Peron, coauthor of the proposition behind that law, opposes Proposition 64 because he thinks current state laws allow for medicinal use of cannabis with little meddling by the government.

“We don’t need it,” Peron said of the initiative. “Why are there so many restrictions that they insist on as if [pot] were super dangerous?”

… It also would impose a 15% excise tax on retail sales for medical and non-medical users, on top of taxes that cities and counties would be allowed to impose.

Those would be in addition to the sales taxes — which total 9% in Los Angeles County — that would be charged to non-medical users.

In addition, there is a $9.25-per-ounce tax on cultivation, as well as license fees that will be charged by the state, both of which will be passed on to consumers, Davies said. Click here to read the rest of this excellent article.

Picture: Dennis Peron with Taffy and Toffee on Nov 3, 2016. Credit: John Entwistle, Jr.