Dispensary Tax Gouging is not Only Inconvenient, but Morally Wrong. Here's why.

Posted 07/27/2024

Imagine a scenario in which you were a person struggling with frequent migraines. You take over-the-counter medication such as ibuprofen. Suddenly your government passes a law that says you have to pay a 15% tax on smaller dose headache medication, and a 20-40% tax on the higher doses that you need. The only way to avoid paying these high taxes is to make an expensive appointment with a Doctor in a country in the midst of a healthcare coverage crisis and convince him that your headaches are bad enough for you to not pay the exorbitant taxes. Next you have to register with the state as a person who needs headache medication “medically”. Imagine you now have to take a trip or a vacation to another state. Your headache medical license will no longer work in that new state unless you move to that state, acquire a new state ID, visit another doctor, and acquire your new license and registration. Oh and by the way, the old license in your OLD state is now null and void. That is also, of course, all dependent on if the new state even allows headache medication in the first place, which many do not. Many states choose to not carry headache medication in spite of it being common, affordable, safe, and by far the most effective way to fight your migraines. Picturing an imaginary scenario like this highlights the very real struggles that everyday Americans experience with common mental health issues instead of migraines, and cannabis instead of headache medication.

Skewed societal perception and taboo regarding mental health, as well as the devastating effects and lessons learned from the use of other psychoactive drugs in the past 70 years have been used as justification for exorbitant taxes on legalized Cannabis. Overtaxing a population for using a safe, extremely effective mental health medicine like Cannabis is morally wrong and ultimately harmful for our economy and society.

Old Mental Health Crisis, and the New Cure

It is no secret that the newer generations are using cannabis more than ever. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health posted data this year showing that there are now more daily cannabis users than alcohol users. The driving force behind this trend is not the gradual societal acceptance of cannabis use, but common mental health issues such as anxiety, and depression. Weed has become THE way to regulate mood and “carry on” for Americans struggling to cope with the hardships of inflation, rising housing costs, and general economic stagnation while trying to preserve the indomitable spirit and optimism of the American Dream. The people of this country have collectively realized that there seems to be no better or safer way to regulate anxiety and depression better than Cannabis.

There is no Such Thing as “Recreational” Cannabis

There is a disparity between the way drugs of the mind are treated and perceived vs drugs of the body by the American public. The root of this disparity lies in the taboo perception of mental health. Our society tells us that taking drugs for a sick brain is only done for enjoyment (recreation), while taking drugs for a sick body is medicinal. The truth is that there is no actual difference. The brain is an organ like your heart, lungs, and liver. The Oxford dictionary defines “recreation” as “an activity done for enjoyment while one is not working”.There are a few reasons that Cannabis does not fit this definition. Relief from common mental health issues is being confused for enjoyment. Indeed, many do enjoy themselves on cannabis, but cannabis is a brain medicine, not a recreational activity like golf or hiking. Furthermore, working while high has ascended past taboo status, as more and more working Americans and American companies have opened up about using cannabis in the workplace. We don't consider using caffeine in the workplace to help with focus and energy as “recreation”. Why would we consider using cannabis in the workplace to improve general mood as “recreation”?

For most of history, Cannabis was seen as exclusively a medicinal plant. The change in perception is exceptionally modern. The quality and variety of drugs has exploded in the last century and a half. Advances in medicine, science, and manufacturing have produced a wider range of drugs than ever before in human history. Common mental health issues like anxiety and depression have always existed and it drove the mass adoption of many of these new widely available drugs. Americans learned many hard lessons from trying to use these other drugs for the same reasons people now are using cannabis. Cocaine, Heroin, Cigarettes, speed and countless others have had their moments in the forefront of American culture, with disastrous results. The extreme side-effects, and withdrawal from societal and family responsibilities that became associated with many psychoactive drugs in the last 70+ years has led our culture to associate people who would use these drugs to be, in a way, selfish. Instead of digging into the complex psychology and chemistry that causes people to seek these drugs for some sort of mental relief, we tried (and failed) to throw OUT the idea of using drugs to improve mental health altogether. Infamous anti-psychoactive drug programs backed by millions of dollars like DARE and Nancy Regan’s “just say no” were naive. You cannot expect people to not seek relief from common anxiety and depression.

An irony of it all was that prescription psychoactive drugs prescribed by doctors were not stigmatized at all in the way illegal psychoactive drugs were, in spite of most of them carrying many of the same dangers including risk of overdose if used improperly, or chemical dependence, EVEN when used properly. However, societal acceptance of many of these prescription drugs seem to also be declining in the last 25 years in America as we have seen the devastation wrought by the pharmaceutical companies profiting from crippling addictions, while using the money to market and lobby the drugs as “safe”. Prescription synthetic opioids such as oxycodone have fueled a nation-wide opioid epidemic. Students in America are also increasingly relying on amphetamines like Adderall to focus, with many starting as early as elementary school. For many, these developments have led to a healthy skepticism about prescription psychoactive drugs as well.

In spite of the fact that cannabis is one of the safest drugs on earth ( it is almost impossible to overdose and die using cannabis) AND in spite of the fact that Cannabis is not chemically addictive, its illicit status going back to the beginning of the 1900’s led to its close association with other, more dangerous illicit drugs in the American psyche. It has taken literal decades of stoners protesting for legalization and the slow but steady growth of cannabis users to finally tip the scale to a majority societal acceptance, and even embrace pot. In spite of the overwhelming modern acceptance of weed, old prejudice against the proverbial “illicit drug user” remains present in the Cannabis taxation ethos. In other words, our society doesn't seem to care if we over-tax weed users.

From Compassion to Greed

The medicinal properties of Cannabis were the driving force of legalization in the beginning. The first state to legalize Weed was California, when they instituted what they called a “Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program” in 1996 through referendum. It provided a system of medical marijuana licenses recommended by physicians. It was revolutionary at the time. The idea was that Cannabis was to remain illegal to the general population, but exceptions would be made for those suffering with debilitating medical conditions. The plight of chronically ill patients suffering from diseases ranging from glaucoma to cancer feeling more relief using cannabis than they did using countless prescription drugs became a powerful image in the minds of those who voted yes to the proposition. California’s medical marijuana program became a model for other states. These programs were not perfect. Many doctors refused to recommend Cannabis for fear of associating with a federally illegal drug, leading to dedicated clinics whose whole business model became prescribing cannabis, essentially turning some doctors into quasi pot-license dealers. Anybody who wanted access to cannabis had to register their name with the state, labeling them as users of a federally illegal substance. Another issue was that access to cannabis under this program would also be limited to residents. Anyone without a California Licence could not participate in the medical program. In spite of its imperfections, it was clear that the legalization battle would be fought on the principles of Cannabis being a medicine.

However, the medicinal image and narrative around cannabis began shifting after Colorado became the first state to legalize “recreational” marijuana. At the time, it seemed like a huge victory in the fight for legalization. Now there was a state where anyone over the age of 21 could legally buy Cannabis, without having to consult a doctor. Almost overnight, Colorado became a weed tourism destination. However, Colorado profoundly changed the game by instituting cannabis taxes. California did not tax its patients due to the idea that cannabis was a medicine, and thus should be exempt from tax. In Colorado, Cannabis legalization was of a completely different spirit. Weed was spun to be a “recreation”, a vice that should be regulated and taxed like gambling and Alcohol. The state was driven to legalization not out of the compassion in their hearts, but the vast money to be made. In 2015, the first full year of legalization, Colorado collected over 130 million dollars in cannabis taxes. 5 years later, tax revenue tripled. This tax revenue quickly made other states GREEN with envy. The cat was out of the bag. From then on, the focus on Cannabis legalization in America became profit driven. High taxation, heavy regulation, and tourism would be the new status quo. To be clear, Colorado DID institute a medical program alongside its recreational system. It worked in much the same way as California’s with many of the same issues, including registration with the state, tax exemption, and the gross enrichment of physicians acting as medical license dealers. This dual recreational and medicinal legalization model was adopted by many states afterwards. In 2019, Illinois would add a recreational system to its medical program created in 2013. In the same year, California moved to implement the greedy dual recreational/ medical model.

A medicine in some hands, a recreation in anothers

This convoluted dual image of pot as a medicine AND a recreation does not hold up to scrutiny. How is the same product considered medicine in some hands, but a recreation in others? The truth is that admitting that ALL use of pot is medicinal is a direct threat to the state’s tax revenue, and thus states have worked hard to ensure the narrative remains that most cannabis users are just doing it for fun. Almost half a decade on, the excitement of easily accessible pot has been quelled by the harsh reality of extortionate tax rates that match and even exceed that of alcohol, a vastly more dangerous substance. Stoners who do not go through the lengthy and expensive process of gaining a state medical license, or have out-of-state IDs are forced to pay up to 25% tax on some cannabis products. This is not a sustainable model. It is only a matter of time until stoners will demand their medicine be affordable. Until then, black market dealers will thrive selling cheaper, but less regulated products, endangering public health. Allowing the black market to thrive in order to preserve a system of extortionate tax rates and the continued enrichment of a group of weed-prescribing physicians is morally wrong and detrimental to society.

Ends Do Not Justify Means

Cannabis tax revenue DOES go to good use. According to the Illinois Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer, Cannabis tax revenues go to fund everything from the Department of Agriculture, to the Department of Human Services' Community Services fund, to state police. However, it is not sustainable or moral to collect these funds by exploiting people using cannabis to regulate their mental health. The ends do not justify the means.

Weed is a medicine for the brain. It's ok to accept it. Anxiety, depression, boredom, un-inspiration are all ailments of the mind, relieved by Cannabis. It is time for stoners to take this correct narrative and perpetuate it. It is time to end the idea of “recreational” cannabis. It's time to end the extortionate taxes on Cannabis for the greater good.