If you’re a drug dealer, you might want to get some tax stamps:
[Kansas] has set its tax rate on marijuana at $3.50 per gram and its taxes on other controlled substances at $200 per gram or $2,000 per pill. Drug dealers operating in the state should visit the Taxpayer Assistance Center in Topeka between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm to buy drug tax stamps. Or they can order them through the mail. By attaching the stamps to the drugs, dealers can show that they paid their taxes. They may be busted and arrested, but at least tax evasion won’t be one of the charges.
Kansas is not alone in demanding that drug dealers pay their fair share of taxes. Some 10 to 20 states have (or once had) legislation setting tax rates on illegal drugs.
One problem: the stamps aren’t exactly flying off the shelves:
According to attorney Robert Henak, “Everywhere but four states, I believe, there is no indication that drug dealers are buying stamps.” The majority of states have sold no stamps, or only a few thousand dollars worth in tiny increments. So who is buying?
Stamp collectors. Many of the stamps feature marijuana leaf designs or comical health warnings as Henak, a stamp collector who once shared his collection of drug tax stamps with Playboy magazine, can attest.
(Image: A marijuana tax stamp image via NORML)
The Dish 