Proposed Oklahoma law would tax marijuana growers
DURANT, Okla. (KTEN) — A newly proposed bill in the Oklahoma legislature would eliminate a tax exemption that medical marijuana growers have received since their business was legalized.
That, in turn, could lead to a price hikes for consumers.
Currently, marijuana growers fall under the state's agriculture tax exemption list. Senate Bill 1101 would remove the exemption from growing, harvesting or processing cannabis.
"Cost for lights, cost for soil, cost for pots... all of those things that were exempt, you could write them off or not pay taxes on," said Erik Jenkins, owner of Organic Meds. "Now they want to collect that money."
The tax revenue would go toward resources to better manage Oklahoma's burgeoning marijuana industry.
"We're not collecting enough taxes," said Rep. Justin Humphrey (R-District 19). "We're cheaper than anybody else, and we are not paying enough to support the law enforcement, the inspectors, the assessors, and all the things it takes to make sure it regulates."
But Jordan Ensey of Sweet Leaf Farmacy in Durant said more regulations will likely have a negative impact on their industry.
"It's just going to drive people to go towards the black market," she said. "If we keep raising our prices here and it gets to the point that people can't afford their medicine, they're just going to switch over and get it off the streets."
"We need to talk to the people at the head of OMMA [Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority] and kind of diversify where those funds are going," Jenkins said. "We don't really have any idea where the money went.
But Humphrey said the tax would be justified.
"They're overloading our electric grid," he said. "Now we're going to have to buy new substations. Guess who going to have to buy for that you and me? They're not paying their fair share of what it's costing rural Oklahoma and the State of Oklahoma."