Back on April 3rd, medical marijuana delivery became legally operational in the state of Massachusetts — though it’s far from a perfect ecosystem.
The success or failure of the medical marijuana industry in the Commonwealth, and delivery as a viable means of distribution on a lesser scale, will ultimately rely on a number of key variables including tax revenue and the elimination of the black market.
One of the factors at the fulcrum of the issue is the tax rate Massachusetts may eventually levy on medical (or recreational) delivery services. Currently, the state of Massachusetts does not tax sales of medical marijuana or any medicine.
The primary risk of implementing an unreasonably high tax on marijuana sales is that it may push patients back towards the black market in search of savings. Finding a balance where people are comfortable with price point and value the safety of a legal market is paramount.
Reducing the presence of the illegal cannabis market is essential to the growth of the legal marijuana as a whole, which in turn benefits local municipalities that stand to reap the benefits of a thriving new industry; it’s a point that local lawmakers and…