SD County Measure A - Marijuana Is On the Ballot

The average consumer may still be buying from a guy who knows a guy because it’s the path of least resistance.

When Californians said yes to legalizing marijuana, San Diego’s County Supervisors simply ignored results of Proposition 64’s passage. They chose to ignore the portions of the law allowing local governments  to develop procedures for permitting, inspection and enforcement of retail cannabis, along with the ability to tax their sales.

Measure A gets the county into the process of permitting and placement of legal cannabis stores, with a clear community-based approval process. A tax, paid solely by cannabis business owners, including retail businesses will be deposited in the county’s general fund. The income, estimated to be in the range of $2.9 to $5.6 million annually will be used to offset the costs of enforcement, along with investment in community, public health and social equity programs.

This law will only impact pot businesses in the county’s unincorporated region — excluding the city of San Diego and the 17 other incorporated cities. Presently 100% of the marijuana trade in these areas is illegal, not paying their fair share of taxes, and all-too-often operated in an irresponsible manner.

Scott Barnett, president of TaxpayersAdvocate.org contributed an op-ed to the Union-Tribune laying out the consequences of the present non-system:

• Sheriff’s raids of these illegal facilities — in retail centers and residential neighborhoods — have uncovered drug dispensaries often run by organized crime and gangs. Law enforcement officers have seized pot laced with dangerous chemicals and automatic weapons, and uncovered money-laundering operations.

• This unregulated environment forced local governments to divert tens of millions of law enforcement dollars from other law activities — such as firefighting, auto theft, robbery and violent crime — to investigate, stake out, raid and prosecute these criminal organizations. Instead of effective, planned and budgeted operations, local law enforcement has often been forced to play whack-a-mole in reacting to these illegal pot shops.

Haney Hong, president & CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association and Dylan Vorndran, a policy analyst with the SDCTA, drew the short straws and contributed the arguments against Measure A to the Union-Tribune:

The best argument they could come with (other than obvious Just Say No) was that taxes collected under this measure would go into the county’s general fund rather than staying in the unincorporated communities where they are paid.

• The county needs to do the right thing and figure out a new plan that instead brings a benefit to those who pay for it — a plan that doesn’t give money to areas that may already be flush with financial resources.

• While there are some complexities in writing a tax proposal on only the unincorporated areas and guaranteeing that revenue stays where generated, it’s really not that hard. Just because creating restrictions raises the bar to two-thirds for voter approval, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, especially if it means more equity.

So if we’re going to go down this road, does their approach also mean county services for the public should be doled out according to how much an area contributes in tax revenue? Or maybe they mean the opposite, mandating a redistribution of revenue use away from areas that are “well off?”

Finally, anybody who argues that the possibility of getting two thirds voter approval on a ballot measure with no obvious direct benefit to the people being asked to vote must have been smoking something. Making sure that super majorities at the ballot box don’t happen is a big part of the fundamental reasoning behind the “taxpayer association” movement, and now all of a sudden we’re to expect them not to gum up the works?

The real argument against Measure A should center on the failure by nearly all government entities in creating a taxation system that was fair to all parties involved. The old bugaboos about drugs being evil enabled rules and regulations making it difficult for legitimate businesses to operate. 

A vast part of the marijuana market is still flourishing underground. The average consumer may still be buying from a guy who knows a guy because it’s the path of least resistance.

Despite having made the more rational No On A arguments, I say you should vote Yes on A. Sooner or later the guilt involved in legalizing drugs will fade away to the point where sane people will be in charge. Measure A provides a framework that’s adaptable for such a future.

Here’s the legalese for Measure A  

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Click on the titles below to see previous voter guides
(Endorsements coming Monday, October 10)

California State Officials
California’s DC Delegation
State Senate Races
State Assembly Races
SD County Supervisors
County Sheriff, Assessor, and Treasurer Races
SD Measure B: Cash Meets Trash 
SD Measure C: Reach for the Sky! Or Else?
SD Measure D: Righting a Wrong to Build a Future
SD Measure H: It’s for the Children (And Their Parents)
CA Proposition 1: It’s About More Than Abortion
CA Propositions 26 & 27: Betcha Can’t Pick Just One
CA Proposition 28: Arts & Music for a Sane Future
CA Proposition 29: Regulating Dialysis Clinics and the Definition of Insanity
CA Proposition 30: A Poison Pill Concealed by Sweet Promises
CA Proposition 31: Tobacco Company Lawyers Are Scum
SD Democrats’ Scandal Inside a Scandal: Board of Equalization
SD City Council Races: District Two - Is Voting Republican a Mortal Sin?
SD City Council Races: District Four - No News Is Good News for Incumbent
Montgomery-Steppe
SD City Council Races: District Six: It Depends on Your Definition of Neighborhood
SD City Council Races: District 8 - Nothing to See Here
A Dozen Key Races for Progressive Goals in San Diego

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Boards of Education Contests:
Analysis by Thomas Ultican

2022 School Board Contests, Part 1
The County Board, San Diego Unified, Sweetwater Union, Poway Unified
2022 School Board Contests, Part 2
Chula Vista, San Marcos, Vista, Grossmont
2022 School Board Contests, Part 3
Oceanside, Escondido, San Dieguito
2022 School Board Contests, Part 4
Coronado, Carlsbad, Escondido Union
2022 School Board Contests, Part 5
Encinitas Union Elementary School District

Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com