A local business owner and cannabis dispensary hopeful encouraged the Albert Lea City Council Monday night to pass a resolution requesting the state restore the municipal share of the cannabis tax revenue.
Jerry Collins, co-owner of Big Dream Organics, said when Minnesota legalized cannabis, the original law recognized that cities and counties would carry a large part of the responsibility for making the system work, handling everything from zoning decisions, inspections, nuisance enforcement, coordination with law enforcement and communication with the Office of Cannabis Management.
Because of those responsibilities, he said, the original legislation included a program called Local Government Cannabis Aid, which shared a portion of the cannabis tax revenue with cities and counties. The aid was funded through a 10% gross receipts tax on retail sales of taxable cannabis products in the state, and from that amount 80% would be deposited into the state's general fund and 20% would be deposited into the Local Government Cannabis Aid account with portions available to cities and counties.
"That structure to me made total sense," Collins said. "If local governments have to regulate this industry, respond to its impact, they should receive a portion of the revenue generated by that industry."
Read more at Albert Lea Tribune
