Homeless people in Los Angeles, California and Aurora, Colorado, are benefiting from new taxes on marijuana sales that are placing millions of dollars in the cities’ treasuries.
In Los Angeles, where homelessness has reached epidemic proportions, a proposed tax on medical marijuana would raise part of the $2 billion estimated that is needed for housing vouchers and units. Up to a 15 percent tax on medical pot sales and cultivation would bring in $16.7 million annually, much more if pot were legalized for recreational use.
The money raised would be used for housing and services such as showers, vouchers, and outreach for 44,359 homeless people in LA County – a 12% jump from 2013 to 2015, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
Medical marijuana users are upset about taxes on medical marijuana, according to High Times, a pot industry magazine:
“Medical marijuana patients rabidly oppose taxation schemes on cannabis because they believe it creates an unfair burden on their choice to use a natural substance rather than prescription drugs. Pot advocates argue that taxing green medicine creates economic hardships for patients and often drives them back into the black market.”
Cathedral City and two other California cities have successfully passed pot taxes.
Aurora, the third-largest city in Colorado, announced in September it would be using $1.5 million in taxes on recreational pot to fund services for the homeless. The tax is estimated to bring in $5.4 million in 2016, double what it raised in 2015, according to the Denver Post.
One Aurora organization will receive $200,000 to support families living in motels; two other groups will receive funding for vans for homeless outreach. Another $680,000 will be given to city nonprofits, and some will be used to build a recreational center.
Bob Roth, Aurora city councilman, told the Post:
“We wanted to be able to show citizens that we are having a positive impact on the community and point to specific projects or initiatives to where that money is going to.”
Featured image via Flickr/Mike Mozart, under Creative Commons 2.0 license
