Marijuana Advocates Battle Huge Pot Tax Increase

A proposed 15 percent tax on medical marijuana sales would push the government's take on retail pot in Los Angeles to more than one-fourth of the advertised price.

The city's take is already 5 percent, and the state levies normal sales taxes (about 7.5 percent) on weed sales, so your $200 ounce of Skywalker OG could end up costing you more than $250.

Longtime cannabis advocates are opposed to the bill by state Sen. Mike McGuire of Sonoma County, which would impose a state tax of 15 percent on medical pot in order to help fund the coming "regulation of cultivation, processing, manufacturing, distributing and sale of marijuana," according to a statement from his office.

The cash is needed, McGuire argues, to help build the regulation bureaucracy called for under a trio of bills, collectively known as the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA), signed by Gov. Jerry...

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