Pot dispensaries decry crackdown
Medical marijuana dispensaries in California pump more than $100 million in tax revenue into state coffers, but that windfall is being threatened by a federal crackdown on the facilities, a group of dispensary operators told state tax officials Tuesday.
In testimony before the state Board of Equalization, half a dozen medical marijuana activists -- including several who have seen their operations closed and assets seized by drug agents -- said federal raids are eroding tax revenue just when the fiscally strapped state needs it most.
California voters legalized medical marijuana more than a decade ago, but the state didn’t begin collecting taxes from the facilities until 2005.
The state’s medical marijuana law conflicts with federal prohibitions on pot for any use.
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