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LA voters to decide on new pot tax in November

Marijuana is weighed on a scale at Virgil Grant's dispensary in Los Angeles, California on February 8, 2018. 
Virgil Grant is riding the high on California's cannabis legalization, with a burgeoning empire that already comprises three dispensaries, two plantations and a line of apparel. His success has come as some compensation for the six years lost inside the federal prison system for dealing the drug. / AFP PHOTO / Frederic J. BROWN / TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Veronique DUPONT        (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
Marijuana is weighed on a scale at a dispensary in Los Angeles, California on February 8, 2018.
(
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
)

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LA voters to decide on new pot tax in November

The Los Angeles city council voted Tuesday to put a measure on the November ballot asking voters if they want to add another local tax on legal pot. The measure needs support from two-thirds of voters to pass.

The city estimates the tax would raise $30 million each year to fund things like parks and libraries near pot businesses, as well as cannabis youth prevention programs. Proponents say it'll help communities targeted in the War on Drugs. But legal pot shop owners have said existing taxes are already making it difficult for them to compete with the city's many unlicensed sellers. 

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