campaign was the possibility of generating millions of dollars in tax revenue from
sales which could be used for funding general education. The Colorado legislature
was weighing a proposal to tax marijuana at 30 percent, of which 15 percent would
be a sales tax on consumers and 15 percent an excise tax on growers. Washington
has set a tax rate of 44 percent on consumers and 25 percent each for growers and
retailers. Since the legalization of marijuana is relatively new, projecting the
economic impact of its sale is difficult, leading to many questions as to the
quantities that will be produced and sold and what actual tax revenues will be
generated.
Source: Elizabeth Dwoskin, “Colorado and Washington Try to Figure Out How to
Tax Marijuana,” Bloomberg Businessweek, April 26, 2013.
Suppose the sale of marijuana is legalized in Florida, and the state decides to charge a
tax of $50 per ounce on each sale, with the state claiming that retailers will bear the
entire burden of this tax. Draw a graph illustrating the situation where retail outlets
would bear the entire tax burden of $50 per ounce of marijuana. Explain what would
need to be true about the demand for marijuana for retailers to bear the entire burden of
this tax, and if this would likely occur if marijuana sales were legalized.