Cannabis Taxes: Failed Promises and Weak Consumer Protections
The Problem.
When voters approved the cannabis legalization measure in 2016, it imposed new special taxes on growers and retailers and promised voters that the State Auditor would conduct an annual performance audit of how the money was spent and how well enforcement worked. Soon after the measure passed, the Legislature amended that provision to shift the audit responsibility elsewhere and reduce how often the audits happened. When the auditor did examine the program, it found weak oversight of grant funds, permitting practices that left the door open to favoritism, and enforcement rules on child-appealing packaging so vague they produced inconsistent results. Over the same period, calls to poison control for young children ingesting cannabis rose sharply.
The Solution.
This is exactly why the Transparency Act places audit requirements in the state Constitution rather than leaving them to be watered down later. Under the measure, voters see an independent audit before they approve a special tax, and the program faces recurring audits every four years afterward. The oversight voters are promised is the oversight they actually get.