The Pacific Daily News reports on measures that Guam authorities want to take to stop cheating on taxes and ensure the safety of cannabis products sold in Guam.
Those who operate recreational cannabis businesses should be restricted to only one type of business— cultivation, manufacturing or retail — Cannabis Control Board members said.
That restriction is necessary to prevent cheating on taxes and to ensure the safety of the product that is being sold, they said during their previous meeting at Adelup.
License holders can own several of the same type of business, but allowing them to own different types of cannabis businesses could lead to manipulation, board members said.
That policy addresses concerns raised by board member William Parkinson during a board meeting in November. At that meeting, he said a cannabis cultivator who also owns a manufacturing or retail business could cheat on paying the 15 percent excise tax by selling cannabis to itself at an artificially low price. The tax is assessed when cannabis cultivators sell to manufacturers or retailers.
Along those lines, someone with different types of cannabis businesses also could manipulate documents related to the safety of the product, board members said.
“There’s gotta be a check and balance for safety reasons,” said member Linda DeNorcey, who is director of the Department of Public Health and Social Services.
The cannabis board currently is reviewing and discussing proposed rules and regulations for the recreational cannabis industry in order to meet an April deadline set by Guam law. Buying, selling or trading cannabis for anything of valuable remains illegal until the rules and regulations are implemented, but adults 21 and over can legally grow and consume cannabis at home.
Source: https://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2020/01/19/guam-cannabis-control-board-business/4463271002/
