EDITORIAL: Recreational marijuana sales tax worth your support

Jan. 28—Area communities will consider a recreational marijuana sales tax in April; voters should support those measures.

Joplin and Jasper County last week joined the long list of cities and counties to ask voters to approve a local sales tax on recreational marijuana. The 3% sales tax would be charged on top of the 6-cent state sales tax on marijuana sales.

Carthage and Neosho city councils had already decided to seek the sales tax as permitted under an amendment approved by voters in November that allows adult marijuana use for recreational purposes.

Council members in Joplin, Neosho and Carthage each unanimously approved the measures.

Joplin has been pursuing additional revenue sources as it seeks to confront staffing issues and to complete a number of projects to meet the goals set through a community assessment process. The funds are needed, useful, and there is no strategic advantage to leaving the money on the table, given that most communities are moving to approve the tax.

"We anticipate this tax will generate anywhere between $300,000 and $500,000 annually," Joplin City Manager Nick Edwards told the council. "Still we would probably have to see how it will go for a full year before making any big decisions on what to do with it."

The industry hasn't indicated opposition to the sales tax, either. Adam Murphy, director of retail at Blue Sage Cannabis, the only medical marijuana dispensary in Carthage, said he welcomes the city's move, calling the tax "a win-win for everyone."

"We were expecting it, and I think it's the right move. Missouri, in my opinion, has the most reasonable cannabis tax in the country. It's a lot more in many states, so I think that 9% is a nice number. It's enough to really help the community and the state with that extra tax revenue, and it's also not so high it scares people off."

Additionally, some city officials see the sales tax as a way to offset potential increased costs as recreational marijuana is broadly available.

"Other places have said you're going to have more police calls, you'll have more fire calls, this tax will at least help you pay for it," Carthage City Administrator Greg Dagnan said.

Also, county and city taxes will not overlap. Jasper County Attorney Norman Rouse said this tax was unique in that the county would not collect sales tax on recreational marijuana sold in the cities within the county. The county could only collect revenue from dispensaries outside any city limits.

Voters across the area should approve the marijuana sale tax issues on the April 4 ballot in their communities.