After nearly recommending an 8 percent tax on marijuana sales for Assembly consideration, the City and Borough of Juneau Marijuana Committee decided instead to table the matter at its meeting Thursday.
The committee members all seemed to favor the idea of an 8 percent sales tax, which mirrors that imposed on alcohol. Several committee members, including Debbie White, expressed fears that taxing marijuana sales too high would drive prices up and force people back to the black market.
“I would really caution us against getting greedy on the taxes,” White said. She explained that she has family in Seattle, Washington, and said that the black market is thriving there for this reason. “The people who voted for this said treat marijuana like alcohol. We have an 8 percent tax on alcohol, and I’m comfortable with that.”
All other committee members, including committee chair Jesse Kiehl, seemed to share White’s sentiment. Kiehl has expressed his fear several times already about making decisions that will push people back into the black market, and he made the point again Thursday.
“Ultimately we’re Americans, and we like a bargain, so if you can get it cheaper, people often do,” Kiehl said.
Though committee members seemed to agree on the 8 percent sales tax, they were unsure about how the city should levy the tax. They asked City Attorney Amy Mead to explore their options and report back to the committee at it’s next meeting in November.
The committee also tabled discussion regarding whether the city should require licenses specifically for marijuana businesses. On this topic, the committee was split. Some members argued that requiring city licenses specific to marijuana businesses would increase the city’s ability to regulate the industry. If businesses failed to comply with code, the city could pull their licenses, the pro-license contingent of the committee said. Kiehl and fellow committee member Mary Becker stood on this side of the issue.
“It seems to me that it would be easier if you have a license to pull than to take them to court,” Becker said.
Other committee members, however, argued that requiring an additional license — marijuana businesses will already have to obtain a state license to operate — is an unnecessary measure.
“These are business people; they’re not criminals, and I think we need to treat them like any other business in Juneau,” said committee member Dennis Watson, arguing that the city should not impose any additional licensing requirements for marijuana businesses. White and committee member Bill Peters also took firm stances against requiring city licenses.
“You’re creating a whole other level of bureaucracy that you don’t need,” Peters said.
And according to Mead, he isn’t wrong. Mead said that the city could force compliance without licenses. In fact, the process is similar if the city decides not to require licenses.
“The license still requires hearings and court actions,” she said. “It’s somewhat of the same process.”
