Dear Editor,

 I’m writing this letter in response to your article titled “WS ALDERMAN DICUSS RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA”. I was going to let the sleeping dog lie but I felt there are things that are needed to be pointed out. My first concern is that the council is about to let their personal feelings guide them through a major decision that will affect the community for a long time to come. Getting right to the point the tax revenue has become outrageous in other communities and states and has become an extreme windfall. No the revenue that is generated is referred to as a cash cow I would believe. Let me show you some revenue that has already paid out and predictions that will come into play. First an example of those that are receiving the revenue:

 Year Colorado Marijuana Tax Revenue

2014 $67,594,323 

2015 $130,411,173

2016 $193,604,810 

2017 $247,368,473 

2018 $266,529,637

2019 $302,458,426 

2020 $387,480,110 

2021 $423,486,053

How does Colorado spend marijuana tax revenue?

-10% goes to local governments.

-90% goes to the state government.

-15.56% of the state revenue goes to the general fund.

-12.59% goes to the state public school fund.

-71.85% goes to the marijuana tax cash fund.

Year Illinois state marijuana tax revenue 

2020 $52,783,471 

2021 $317,074,561

How does Illinois tax marijuana?

Illinois charges 7% of cannabis products' value in wholesale taxes. It also levies the following retail taxes:

-10% of value for cannabis products with 35% THC or less,

-25% of value for cannabis products with more than 35% THC, and

-20% of value for infused cannabis products that can't be smoked.

Using average excise tax figures and the number of marijuana-using residents in each state, the Tax Foundation estimated the potential excise tax revenue with a market established for at least three years.

Here's what they found:

 

Data source: Tax Foundation (2021).

State Potential Marijuana Tax Revenue 

Alabama $92,217,856 

Arkansas $59,314,764 

Delaware $24,566,974 

Florida $448,740,070 

Georgia $198,400,771 

Hawaii $28,453,985 

Idaho $33,295,445 

Indiana $157,009,061 

Iowa $50,183,462 

Kansas $42,058,74

 Kentucky $83,008,154 

Louisiana $81,616,779 

Maryland $135,837,117 

Minnesota $122,072,389 

Mississippi $47,304,242 

Missouri $119,222,374 

Nebraska $35,975,930 

New Hampshire $44,163,575 

North Carolina $182,947,622 

North Dakota $13,231,599 

Ohio $220,827,478 

Oklahoma $67,680,000 

Pennsylvania $244,553,615 

Rhode Island $35,455,500 

South Carolina $96,680,914 

South Dakota $14,270,281 

Tennessee $132,509,552 

Texas $397,424,206 

Utah $44,428,908

West Virginia $38,327,540 

Wisconsin $117,791,078

Now I didn’t think about writing this letter to the Editor until I drove the streets of Willow Springs and actually took a look around Willow Springs and saw where improvements could take place at the cost of Marijuana use and sales. So the questions I would ask the alderman of Willow Springs is this. You’ll allow Casey’s, Snappy Mart and Mr G’s to sell liquor which is good tax revenue but it has detrimental outcome for those that partake but not sell marijuana? Your personal thoughts are yours to think about but when it comes to the community you represent but it’s not just you that will lose this tax revenue. The results will be the man or woman pushing the stroller down the street where there could be sidewalks. It’s the boy or girl riding their bike swerving to avoid a large pot hole. Or it could be anyone that looks around Willow and can visualize what the tax revenue could do for the community.  I have a number of years in law enforcement and as a EMT 1-A in California and Missouri and have witnessed firsthand the disastrous results from alcohol. I would have much rather dealt with individuals using marijuana than alcohol in my experience.   Don’t allow a close by community reap the benefits of what could make a major change in Willow Springs. 

I don't care if you believe in recreational use of marijuana or the medicinal use of marijuana or growing it or if you do. What I care is the possible existence of an X amount of revenue coming to the city. We witnessed the aftermath of a buildings falling down and the side of a building crumbling down. With the X amount of revenue coming in who knows the possibilities.

Larry Huitt, Willow Springs