The taxes for recreational cannabis keep going up in my state with no end in sight
I understand why our society needs taxes to pay for public services that benefit us all.
We would have crumbling roads and a non-existent infrastructure if we didn’t all contribute to the funding required.
Despite knowing this implicitly, many of us still feel a sting whenever we lose hard-earned dollars to random state and federal taxes. It’s even harder when you’re struggling financially from the get-go and also living paycheck to paycheck. I wish I could easily contribute my portion of taxes without struggling financially and feeling like I wish I wouldn’t have to contribute the money at all, which is sadly where my mind goes when I don’t have enough cash for my bills and other essentials. But there are other reasons to be annoyed with taxes right now, at least within my home state. For years we only had access to medical marijuana and you’d be forced to pay for a card with the state and the fees to see a medical marijuana doctor who would provide you with the “recommendation” for marijuana use. Now that this state also has legalized recreational cannabis sales, anyone over the age of 21 can walk into a cannabis dispensary and buy products. But this comes at the expense of high taxes on all recreational cannabis products. There are some proposing increases in cannabis taxes upwards to 30% on all purchases. If you’re already struggling with money, seeing tax increases like this on something like cannabis feels like a slap in the face. Many of us simply cannot afford obscene taxes like that on cannabis products; but where will we get our marijuana legally if we can’t afford to buy it at a dispensary with recreational cannabis taxes in place?