Local governments taking steps on recreational marijuana sales tax

Local government bodies are taking steps to levy additional taxes on recreational marijuana sales following the November statewide vote to legalize the sale and use.

Constitutional Amendment 3 narrowly passed Nov. 8 with 53% saying "yes", though Cape Girardeau County voters opposed the measure with 56% of the vote.

The amendment authorizes the state to levy a 6% sales tax on recreational marijuana sales. County and municipal governments can each impose an additional 3% tax on top of the standard local sales tax.

The Cape Girardeau County Commission voted just before Christmas to hold a public hearing on the issue, which is set for later this month.

The Jackson Board of Alderman recently discussed possible zoning changes related to marijuana use, and city staff were directed to draft sales tax ballot language.

The Cape Girardeau City Council will hold a first reading Monday, Jan 9, to place the issue on the ballot.

Local governments also could choose to pursue an option that would ban operation of recreational dispensary facilities in their jurisdiction, but doing so would not prevent usage. A ban on recreational marijuana dispensaries could also be implemented through the citizen petition process, which requires signatures from 10% of the total number of registered voters in the city. The question would then appear on the 2024 general election ballot (or future presidential election ballots) and need approval by 60% of voters.

This is an important time for local government bodies to discuss and take steps on taxing recreational marijuana. The deadline to get recreational marijuana sales tax language on the April ballot is Wednesday, Jan. 25.

As we've written before, our perspective is that recreational marijuana is not good for Missouri. But barring efforts to repeal the amendment, it's the reality we face. Local governments need to decide how they will handle it. If they want to put an additional tax of up to 3% on the ballot, now is the time to have those discussions and get it on the ballot for voters to decide.