By Marguerite Arnold

Tax revenue allocated to schools from the legal cannabis trade was one of the most powerful arguments used in Colorado's legalization campaign in 2014.

To an extent, the idea has been a success. Taxes from the new industry have also given dilapidated in-state infrastructure a much-needed boost. About US$80 million has been injected directly into the state public school system since 2014. Some of this has been new school construction; some of it has come in the form of maintenance grants.

But this is not the whole story. When observed against the bigger picture, this is still just a drop in the bucket. One study indicates that the state’s schools need US$18 billion in capital construction costs through next year. Cannabis taxes have funded a microcosmic amount of what the school system needs.

Where is the rest of it?

PUBLIC EDUCATION DISMAY

It is hard for some Europeans to understand the situation actually facing American public schools. In Colorado or elsewhere. The wars waged on this battleground certainly do not just involve funding, but a lot of them certainly do.

For the better part of three decades (at least), American public schools have been slowly losing ground. They are not alone. Public services in general have declined.

In fact, the reason that the marijuana trade taxes are so significant is actually twofold.

First, this is the only industry in the U.S. where state taxes are not deductible from federal ones. This means that local impact from a state industry stays at home. This is terrible for the industry of course. But in this situation, it is good for local residents. And schools. However, in addition, the special focus and tax fund also helps. It earmarks funds that cannot be spent elsewhere.

So, yes, the money means something to a system in various stages of disrepair. But what does the impact really have here and elsewhere?

education taxes cannabis

WHY THIS IS AN ISSUE

From the beginning, cannabis legalization has been a battle fought on multiple fronts. The sin taxes argument was always front and centre. It was a legitimate argument politically. Legalization also takes money away from the black market.

Money talks in the United States, especially in situations where most public infrastructure, not just schools, is crumbling. And the legalization business has proven to be catnip for the nation’s governors. Many of them are even Republicans these days.

If you look at the numbers, it is hard not to see why. National legalization could easily generate close to $30 Billion in new tax revenue annually.

On a state-by-state basis, that is a lot of green.

Further, many other states have followed Colorado’s lead. In Oregon, for example, 40% of state tax revenue from cannabis is earmarked for education. That is not true, however, in other states. Many seem to be waking up to the reality of a tax windfall thanks to a new industry.

Here is the ultimate issue. Everyone knows that this is a great, new, taxable industry. And for this very reason, it is also one more way to starve the federal government of this revenue too.

Right now, in the United States, there is a concerted effort to weaken the federal government. This means shrink services, as well as income. What rescheduling the drug will mean nationally, is the opposite of that. There are actually many reasons why federal reform may take much longer than it should. Even now.

There is a real need and hunger for the tax revenue produced at the source. While federal legalization would solve a host of issues, from banking to healthcare problems, it will also rob states of the direct tax revenue from the most dynamic industry in the country right now.

Welcome to the complexities of reform.

WHY THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE IN EUROPE

Outside of the United States, this is really a non-starter kind of conversation. Yes, taxes from the industry are absolutely significant. As are jobs, research and other income the industry generates.

However, other countries have not had their tax bases as shredded as in the United States. Nor have public school budgets ever been so closely tied to local property taxes. This is especially true in Europe where home ownership in general is much lower.

And while sin taxes are certainly attractive to legalization advocates everywhere, the double connection to education specifically is much less. Further, “drug use” - especially soft drug use, has always been treated as more of a public health issue than a crime.

In Europe, all these forces are adding a different flavour to the tax conversation. For example, Swiss activists have used the “sin tax” idea to successfully now push through a taxed, low-THC (essentially CBD) market that is finally taking off. The next step is clearly full legalization based on tax revenue alone.

In Holland, the more regulated industry will also start to generate identifiable taxes. However, these taxes will be fed into the regular channels that exist now. Public spending on schools will be affected as part of the whole.

public education marijuana taxes dispensary

WHERE THIS MIGHT BE A TIPPING POINT IN EUROPE

There are two places where regulated marijuana industries will make a huge impact on tax bases in Europe right now. This could be directed specifically to education. Or it could be toward a general fund for general tax purposes. Or medical research. The latter two are far more likely.

Where is this likely to be an issue? Spain and Greece.

In Spain, the Catalonian state government has essentially decided to go “Full Colorado.”

This means for now that the cannabis club culture will be connected to regulated grows. It also means that there will be taxes associated with the same. This is ostensibly a “non-profit” environment, however, there are always associated revenues with this business. That starts with real estate and grow material.

In Greece, the situation looks actually far more promising. Given the dire overall economic situation, the Greeks appear to be well on the road to establishing a true Mediterranean paradise. Think Jamaica but with fabulous, millennium-old ruins. This is an idea that could easily float right now in every German banker boardroom. Especially as Germany has just legalized medical use. In Greece, that tax income will absolutely be used to finance schools. But it will also be used to refloat the credibility of a bankrupt government.

From a bird’s eye view, in fact, Greece has just come to this moment faster than the U.S.

They did not even have to elect a president Trump to do it.

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Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: