Designing a Federal Tax on Cannabis

Abstract A Federal tax on cannabis requires answers to several questions: 1. What should we tax? What should be the “base” or bases of a cannabis tax? (Possible bases include: price; weight of various product types [like flower, trim, and concentrate]; and THC content.) 2. Given any base, what should the tax rate be? 3. Should medical cannabis bear full tax? 4. Should marijuana advertising and selling expenses become deductible for federal income tax purposes? (That would treat cannabis businesses like other businesses; current Internal Revenue Code section 280E bars such deductions.) Recently introduced federal legislation provides answers, some more aligned with drug policy than others, to those questions.