Appeals court calls law unconstitutional

NASHVILLE, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the states tax on illicit drugs, known as the “crack tax,” is unconstitutional.

Judge Sharon G. Lee wrote the unanimous opinion upholding a decision that found that the tax on illicit drugs violates drug possessors’ guarantee of due process and voids protections against self-incrimination, the Nashville Tennessean reported.

A Tennessee state law imposed in 2005 levies a tax on illegal substances, including cocaine and Marijuana.

Under the law drug dealers are required to pay the tax anonymously at a state revenue office and get a stamp to prove payment.

The law, which has been criticized often, has criminal defense attorneys claiming that the state is taxing people who aren't even convicted of crimes and that the law violates a defendant's right to avoid self-incrimination.

"We affirm the trial court's conclusion upon the alternate ground that the statute is arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable and, therefore, invalid under the Tennessee Constitution, in that it seeks to tax as a privilege, activity that prior legislation has designated as criminal activity," the opinion said.

The state said it will appeal the ruling to Tennessee Supreme Court, the Tennessean said.