Oakland City Council Meeting Over Cannabis Tax Increase
| By Americans For Safe Access | Published July 22, 2010 |
| Date: |
Thursday, July 22, 2010 |
| Time: | 5:30 PM |
| Address: | Oakland City Hall get directions 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza Oakland, CA 94612 |
The Oakland City Council will meet Thursday 7/22 at 5:30PM to dramatically increase the local tax (8% - 12%) on medical cannabis.
You must come to council on Thursday to show our numbers against this outrageous tax increase. Patients and growers must also contact all council members by phone and by email, and tell them: Do not raise the tax on dispensaries. Set Oakland's cultivation tax equal to Berkeley's 2.5%.
The proposed tax will make Oakland's medicine 10% more expensive than Berkeley's (or anywhere else’s). It will harm the dispensaries and will lead to the layoffs of hundreds of employees and the elimination of patient services and free medicine programs for low-income patients.
The proposed additional 12% tax on medicine (or even the 10% or 8% also being considered) is outrageously higher than any other city in the state. Berkeley has a tax measure on the November ballot of 2.5% on medical and 10% on recreational use, Long Beach is looking at a 5% on medical and 10% on recreational use, and Sacramento is considering between 2% and 4% on medical and 5% and 10% on recreational use.
Phone script:
“Hello, my name is [NAME]. I’m calling to express my opposition to the proposed medical cannabis tax ordinance. The ordinance would tax both dispensaries and cultivation sites at 8-12%, which is completely unrealistic. Dispensaries are struggling to pay the 1.8% tax and are cutting staff and other programs. Any tax increase must be equal to neighboring cities or Oakland will not have a cannabis industry to tax. A tax increase on dispensaries will drive patients out of the city to purchase their medicine, and a tax higher than 2.5% on cultivation will keep Oakland from ever becoming the epicenter of the cannabis industry. Don’t tax Oakland’s cannabis industry out of existence.”
City Council
Call and email in this order!
District 1
Jane Brunner . . . . . . . .238-7001
jbrunner@oaklandnet.com
District 2
Patricia Kenirghan . . . . .238-7002
pkernighan@oaklandnet.com
District 4
Jean Quan . . . . . . . . . .238-7004
jquan@oaklandnet.com
District 6
Desley Brooks . . . . . . .238-7006
dbrooks@oaklandnet.com
At Large
Rebecca Kaplan . . . . . .238-7008
rkaplan@oaklandnet.com
District 5
Ignacio De La Fuente . .238-7005
idelafuente@oaklandnet.com
District 7
Larry E. Reid . . . . . . . .238-7007
lreid@oaklandnet.com
District 3
Nancy J Nadel . . . . . . .238-7003
nnadel@oaklandnet.com
