Measure N: Taxing Recreational Marijuana

image
Author: Jeff Powers
Published: 02 Oct, 2016
Updated: 21 Nov, 2022
1 min read

San Diego, CALIF.- The push to tax pot could be a big money generator for the city of San Diego if a statewide proposition passes.

If California voters approve Proposition 64, which would make it legal for adults to use marijuana, Measure N, if it passes, would impose a sales tax on businesses that sell marijuana for recreational use.

Councilman Kersey's measure dictates that the tax would begin at 5 percent and increase to 8 percent in 2019. At that time the City Council could adjust the tax higher, but never rise above 15 percent. The revenue would go into the city’s general fund.

Kersey argued the genesis for Measure N was dictated by code enforcement and public safety. The state measure could also levy its own 15 percent sales tax on marijuana, but Kersey said the city should make sure a local tax would take care of expenses related to regulating the drug.

Advocates, like the United Marijuana Medical Coalition, cautioned against setting the rate too high. At the rules committee and City Council hearings, the UMMC stated a higher rate could make it harder for legitimate businesses to compete with black-market sellers.

The city’s independent budget analyst estimates a 5 percent tax could raise around $22 million a year. A number that is admittedly dependent on a number of variables, like how easy the city makes it to open a recreational marijuana dispensary, the price of recreational marijuana and its availability in other markets.

 

Latest articles

CA capitol building dome with flags.
Why is CA Senator Mike McGuire Trying to Kill the Legal Cannabis Industry?
California’s legal cannabis industry is under mounting pressure, and in early June, state lawmakers and the governor appeared poised to help. A bill to freeze the state’s cannabis excise tax at 15% sailed through the State Assembly with a unanimous 74-0 vote. The governor’s office backed the plan. And legal cannabis businesses, still struggling to compete with unregulated sellers and mounting operating costs, saw a glimmer of hope....
03 Jul, 2025
-
7 min read
I voted buttons
After First RCV Election, Charlottesville Voters Back the Reform: 'They Get It, They Like It, They Want to Do It Again'
A new survey out of Charlottesville, Virginia, shows overwhelming support for ranked choice voting (RCV) following the city’s first use of the system in its June Democratic primary for City Council. Conducted one week after the election, the results found that nearly 90% of respondents support continued use of RCV....
03 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read