Rob Sand’s Plan to Legalize, Tax, and Regulate Adult-Use Cannabis Gets High Praise
Rob Sand’s Plan to Legalize, Tax, and Regulate Adult-Use Cannabis Gets High Praise
Rob Sand: “…I’m announcing my plan to legalize, tax, and regulate adult-use cannabis — so we can keep those dollars in Iowa, support our farmers, and start getting our budget back on track.”
DES MOINES, IA – On Monday, candidate for governor Rob Sand announced his common-sense plan to legalize, tax, and regulate adult-use cannabis — keeping millions of tax dollars in Iowa and putting them to work for Iowans, supporting small businesses and job growth, and supporting Iowa farmers.
Read more about the roll out of Rob’s cannabis plan below, and read the plan in full here:
Little Village: Rob Sand wants to legalize marijuana, regulate it like alcohol
Even before he launched his campaign for governor almost a year ago, Rob Sand has spoken out in favor of Iowa legalizing marijuana. On Monday, the Democratic candidate released details of his proposal to legalize and regulate adult use of cannabis in the state.
“I just think we should treat it like alcohol,” Sand said. “I don’t understand why it’s complicated. We tried prohibition for alcohol. It turned out to be a really bad idea.”
Only adults 21 or older would be able to purchase cannabis. THC content limits would be established: 10 mg per serving, with a maximum of 100 mg per package. Restrictions would be placed on packaging design and advertising, banning cartoon characters or other imagery likely to appeal to minors. Packaging would also have to be childproof and “mention potential risks associated with cannabis use” along with “a listing of noncannabis ingredients, and an itemization of all cannabinoid and terpene ingredients specified for the product.”
Sand believes legalization would bring important economic benefits to Iowa. His campaign estimates, based on the impact of legalization in similar states, it could create 7,000 jobs. Sand also sees it creating new income streams for Iowa farmers.
“Also, my goodness, we have a $1.3 billion budget deficit right now,” he continued. “The people who created it, who’ve been in charge, are going to have to find ways to fix it.”
Des Moines Register: On 4/20, governor candidate Rob Sand calls for legalizing cannabis
“We need to treat cannabis like alcohol in Iowa,” he said in a social media post. “It’s common sense.”
Iowa is on track to spend over $1 billion more than it receives in tax revenue for the second year in a row, owing largely to state and federal tax cuts.
Sand said taxing cannabis as other states do would help bolster Iowa’s fiscal outlook, and he said growing it in Iowa would open up a new revenue stream for small farmers.
The Gazette: Legalize cannabis, Iowa gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand says
Cannabis should be legal in Iowa for adult use and regulated and taxed like alcohol, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand said Monday.
“I’ve been sounding the alarm for years: Iowa is staring down a nearly $1.4 billion budget hole, and insiders won’t stop digging. One common sense way to help close that gap is to legalize adult-use cannabis and tax and regulate it like alcohol,” Sand said in the news release.
Sand’s proposal comes as Iowa’s hemp-derived THC industry faces mounting uncertainty from the rapidly shifting state and federal rules that business owners say have caused financial losses and stalled growth.
Radio Iowa: Sand unveils his plan to legalize marijuana in Iowa
“I think a no-brainer is we should be treating cannabis in Iowa the same way we treat alcohol,” Sand said in November during an appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa PBS.
Under the plan Sand released today, only those who are 21 or older would be able to buy marijuana products, however he’d ban public consumption, so smoking marijuana in parks, on sidewalks, in moving vehicles or in other public places would remain illegal.
Sand has argued a state tax on cannabis products would offset the state’s structural budget deficit. Sand said many Iowans “are driving across state lines” and buying marijuana in neighboring Missouri, Illinois and Minnesota where it’s legal. “They’re fueling that state’s tax coffers, not ours,” Sand said.
KIWA Radio: Sand Reveals Details of His Marijuana Legalization Plan on 4/20
Sand says only those 21 and older should be able to buy marijuana products. However, he would ban public consumption, meaning smoking marijuana would not be allowed in parks, on sidewalks, in moving vehicles, or in other public places.
Sand says the state should license businesses to sell cannabis products, and a state tax on cannabis would offset the state’s structural budget deficit.
Sand would seek limits on THC content, the chemical in marijuana that creates the psychoactive effect, and require cannabis products to be sold in child-resistant packaging.
KWQC 6: Candidate for governor plans to legalize marijuana in Iowa
Gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand announced his plan to legalize cannabis for adult-use in Iowa Monday.
Sand’s plan would legalize and regulate cannabis for adults, similar to alcohol, according to a campaign news release.
The campaign said it expects the plan would create jobs and expand opportunities for small business owners across the state.
Cannabis Business Times: Iowa Gubernatorial Candidate Plans to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis, Regulate Hemp Products
Rob Sand, who has served as Iowa’s state auditor since 2019 – he was the only Democrat to win a statewide election race in 2022 – released the details of his plan to legalize, tax and regulate adult-use cannabis similar to alcohol on April 20, an international cannabis holiday.
Under Sand’s plan, the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Division would expand to include cannabis experts who would regulate the cultivation, manufacturing, distribution and sale of cannabis in a licensed commercial marketplace, allowing those 21 years and older to access products containing no more than 10 milligrams of THC per serving and 100 milligrams per package.
Sand also said his adult-use legalization plan would prioritize small and mid-size family farms for cultivation licenses, calling them the “backbone of Iowa’s economy.”