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California Lawmakers Vote, 15-0, To Repeal Cannabis Excise Tax Increase
California lawmakers stood united behind extending a lifeline to the state’s floundering cannabis industry when they unanimously advanced legislation on April 22 to cancel an excise tax increase on dispensary sales.
Despite heated opposition from cannabis tax revenue beneficiaries, the state’s Assembly Business and Professions Committee voted, 15-0, to support Assembly Bill 564. During Tuesday’s hearing, supporters emphasized that the legislation would merely freeze the state’s current 15% excise tax rate, not cut taxes.
Without A.B. 564, sponsored by Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) would be required under 2022 legislation orchestrated by Gov. Gavin Newson to jack the excise tax rate to 19% on July 1, 2025, representing a 27% increase on an already overtaxed marketplace.
In addition to the excise tax, cannabis retailers are also on the hook for remitting up to a 10.75% state sales tax and up to a 10% local sales tax in cities like Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose.
Haney called the forthcoming excise tax hike an “extinction event” for the state’s licensed cannabis operators.
“The legal cannabis industry needs a lifeline to keep small businesses open, to keep hundreds of thousands of workers employed and keep the promise we made to voters to make cannabis legal and accessible,” Haney said during Tuesday’s hearing.
California’s licensed retail footprint has flatlined at roughly 1,225 active stores since mid-2023, as 57% of the state’s cities and counties still prohibit cannabis dispensaries, according to the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC).
In addition, California led the nation with 12,600 cannabis jobs lost in 2023 and 5,000 cannabis jobs lost in 2024, according to industry employment agency Vangst.
“California has always been at the heart of America’s cannabis economy and culture, but since voters passed Prop. 64, California has not given the legal cannabis industry a chance to grow in its potential,” Haney said. “The legal cannabis industry, which is subject to state and local taxes and fees, is constantly at threat of being overtaken by the illegal, untaxed industry.”
Haney pointed to a March 2025 economic report commissioned by the DCC that estimated 38% of cannabis consumed by Californians in 2024 came from licensed sources, while the majority came from unregulated and untaxed sources. “This means California is missing out on millions in lost potential revenue from illicit, untaxed sales,” he said.
Testifying in support of A.B. 564, Caren Woodson, who serves on the board of the California Cannabis Industry Association, told lawmakers not to confuse “survival with stability” when considering whether operators can withstand a tax hike. Woodson is also the senior director of compliance and licensing for Kiva Brands Inc.
Woodson mentioned the recent collapses of large California operators like Flow Cannabis Co., Herbl, MedMen, High Times, Statehouse Holdings, Gold Flora and Grassdoor.
“I can tell you from experience, even remaining category leaders like Kiva are not immune,” she said. “We’ve experienced three consecutive reductions in force since 2022. If companies with investment expertise, scale and brand power are folding, what hope is there for a mom-and-pop operator or for social equity licensees? Those businesses are disappearing quietly without press releases or receiverships—just more consolidated storefronts, more empty warehouses and more dreams deferred.”
Woodson also mentioned another threat facing cannabis businesses: tariffs.
RELATED: High Tariffs Hurting Cannabis Sector, With Little Relief in Sight
From packaging to hardware, machinery and compost, every sector of the cannabis supply chain is facing inflationary pressure, she said.
“New tariffs and a tax increase?” Woodson said. “Those on the brink won’t survive. Squeezing more from the remaining 40% in the market won’t generate new revenues; it will shrink them. Every minute we spend debating tax increases is a minute we’re not spending on solutions that matter, like expanding retail access, strengthening enforcement and bringing consumers to the legal market.”
Amid California’s industry hardships, the CDTFA reported $219 million in total cannabis tax revenue from the fourth quarter of 2024—including $127.8 million from excise taxes—the lowest-generating quarter since Q1 of 2020. The tax agency has yet to report the first quarter of 2025.
In addition, the state’s licensed cannabis retailers reported $1.08 billion in sales for the first quarter of 2025, representing a 23% decrease from a market peak in the second quarter of 2021, according to the DCC.
While those in support of A.B. 564 argued that raising the excise tax would only drive consumers out of the licensed market and therefore shrink state revenue, those whose organizations are on the receiving end of the excise tax revenue opposed the bill during the April 22 committee hearing.
Tona M. Pena, the manager of tribal programs and advocacy at Youth Forward, one of two primary testifiers in opposition of the bill, told committee members that she was representing 98 youth and environmental organizations that depend on cannabis tax revenue.
“I’m here today to urge you to prioritize funding for children, youth and the environment over the cannabis industry,” she said. “Youth organizations in rural and urban communities are the hardest hit by the war on drugs, including tribal organizations and nations.”
Pena said tribal nations throughout Northern California and the Central Valley have suffered for decades from cannabis cultivators polluting waterways and creating “toxic waste dumps” on their lands. Those environmental compliance issues, however, primarily involve unlicensed operations, not those regulated by the DCC.
Heidi Keiser, the director of government affairs at Child Action Inc., an organization that supports family and child care providers in Sacramento, also testified in opposition.
“The revenues derived from the cannabis excise and cultivation taxes represent a crucial funding stream for child care slots needed by families with lower incomes,” she said. “Here in Sacramento County, no fewer than 4,000 children are still on our wait list, urgently awaiting a child care slot.”
These child care programs and youth groups, along with environmental programs, law and justice organizations, and drug treatment and prevention centers, are among the Tier 3 recipients of California’s cannabis excise tax revenue that Newsom struck a deal with in 2022.
Rather than providing these organizations a more stable form of funding, the governor orchestrated a state budget in 2022 that triggered the cannabis excise tax rate increase on July 1, 2025, should the excise tax revenue fall below a baseline of $680 million annually for three years. The shrinking excise tax revenue has yet to hit that benchmark.
Committee Chairman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, said that while he wasn’t an assemblymember when voters approved citizen-initiated Proposition 64 in the November 2016 election, he finds the current Tier 3 funding conflict “frustrating” and “unfortunate.”
“I wish they didn’t put it together the way they did because we should be funding fantastic community organizations in the budget,” he said. “We should be funding them philanthropically. I personally don’t love tying it to other things, because then when those other things struggle and we need to make changes to what our approach was going to be and what the promise was, then it negatively impacts the great organizations that are here today and that spoke in opposition to the bill, because we’re not giving them the funding that they were promised that they thought they were going to get.”
Berman also recognized that California’s budget challenge won’t fix itself while the Trump administration “slashes funding” for programs such as organizations that make up the state’s Tier 3 entities.
Despite the funding troubles, the committee chairman indicated that taxing California’s cannabis industry to death serves nobody.
“We’re committed to making sure that our communities have the resources that they need while doing what’s necessary to ensure a cannabis industry still exists to tax in the first place,” he said.
Author: mscannabiz.com
MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.
[PRESS RELEASE] – STAMFORD, Conn., Sept. 15, 2025 – Curaleaf Holdings Inc., a leading international provider of consumer cannabis products, announced the opening of two new dispensaries: Curaleaf Apopka, located at 1809 E. Semoran Blvd., Apopka, Fla., 32703, and Curaleaf Girard, located at 801 N State St., Girard, Ohio, 44420. With these dual openings, Curaleaf expands to 69 retail locations in Florida, five in Ohio and 157 nationwide.
Curaleaf Apopka strengthens the company’s presence in Central Florida, providing convenient access for registered medical cannabis patients across the Greater Orlando region. Curaleaf Apopka offers a wide portfolio of medical cannabis products, including Curaleaf’s Select brand vapes and edibles, Florida-exclusive Reef flower, Grassroots Dark Heart Collection flower, Anthem pre-rolls, Miss Grass pre-rolls and more. To ensure patient satisfaction, Curaleaf Florida is offering a 72-hour Flower Satisfaction Guarantee on select premium eighths from Grassroots and Reef. The store will operate from 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Meanwhile, Curaleaf Girard marks the company’s first dispensary within the city of Girard, and enhances access for both medical patients and adult-use consumers across Ohio’s Northeast region. The store features a selection including Select BRIQ all-in-one vapes, Grassroots Dark Heart Collection flower, Grassroots pre-rolls, JAMS and Select XBites edibles and Find flower. Curaleaf will be introducing Grassroots and Find pre-rolls in Singles and 5-pack Shorties, as state regulations now allow for the sale of pre-rolls. Curaleaf Girard will be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
“Each new store opening reflects our mission to expand safe, convenient access to high-quality cannabis across the country,” Curaleaf Chairman and CEO Boris Jordan said. “With Apopka, we are deepening our roots in Florida by serving an important new region for medical patients, and with Girard, we are proudly delivering the first licensed dispensary to the city. Together, these milestones show our commitment to patients and consumers who rely on cannabis for their well-being, while reinforcing Curaleaf’s leadership in both established and emerging markets.”
Local celebrations will mark the openings:
- Curaleaf Apopka will host a grand opening on Sept. 19, 2025, from noon to 5 p.m., featuring special promotions, giveaways and an interactive “Live Lounge” livestream with Curaleaf cultivation leaders.
- Curaleaf Girard will celebrate its opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside the Girard Chamber of Commerce at a later date, featuring exclusive promotions and complimentary refreshments.
For more information on Curaleaf’s dispensaries, products and patient resources, visit www.curaleaf.com.
Author: mscannabiz.com
MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.
Mason Walker is stressed out. With the already intense pressures of running his cannabis farm in Oregon, he’s facing another challenge this season: more aphids threatening to chew up his plants at East Fork Cultivars.
“This year, I’d say we’re facing a problem with 50 percent more aphids than last year,” he says, “and the conditions this summer in Southern Oregon have let them thrive even more.”
Shawn Honaker can relate, but his anxiety stems from the bustling activity of a different kind of pest: grasshoppers. The manager of Yeti Farms in Pueblo, Colo., says his 55-acre outdoor farm is often a buffet for grasshoppers, and he says this year is the worst he has seen them propagate.
“Before our mitigation efforts, if you walked into any area of my farm, within 10 feet you would scare up to 500 grasshoppers,” Honaker says, adding that his farm’s arid region leaves little greenery for grasshoppers to enjoy, making his cannabis plants a prime target for a feast. Grasshoppers also hop his fence with their impressive flying ability. To make matters more challenging, a single insect can lay hundreds of eggs, depending on the species.
As cannabis and hemp farmers across the U.S. confront surging pest management challenges, experts in the sector shared with Cannabis Business Times several approaches to stem the tide of those pesky bugs and the serious damage they can do to cannabis and hemp crops.
From aphids to spider mites to grasshoppers to whiteflies, these pests aren’t going anywhere any time soon, but cannabis companies can be proactive to ensure their plants stay healthy.
Mason Walker of East Fork CultivarsPhoto courtesy East Fork Cultivars
The Benefits of Going Biological
Walker isn’t sitting on his hands this fall, and he’ll follow through on what he experimented with during the chaotic aphid season last year. His farm worked with Oregon State University to raise its own parasitic wasps and released them into the fields to push away the aphid storm. “This was seemingly effective at limiting aphid activity and damage, and we’ll do the same this year,” Walker says.
Honaker is battling his pest trouble with a similar approach. For the past few years, he’s introduced guinea fowl onto his field to help them drive out not just insects but also rodents and snakes.
Raymond Cloyd, a professor of entomology at Kansas State University, applauds what Walker and Honaker are doing to combat their pest problems. “When you’ve got a crop that’s going to be inhaled or used commercially, … biocontrol is a great option,” he says.
When Cloyd consults with cannabis companies to help them with their insect infiltrations, he suggests battling mites with other mites. “With one company, we introduced predatory mites to fight off mites, and that proactive solution proved to be very successful,” he recalls.
There are also types of predatory mites that can stave off thrips, whiteflies and aphids, he adds.
A view of Yeti Farms in Pueblo, Colo., where grasshoppers are an increasing threat to plants.Photo courtesy Yeti Farms
Monitoring and Sanitation Are Crucial
Taking an anticipatory approach to pest management also requires careful monitoring of your plants, whether hemp or cannabis, Cloyd says.
Growers can use visual monitoring methods such as placing sticky yellow cards above the crop canopy, which can commonly catch whiteflies and similar bugs.
But don’t forget the beat method, he advises. Growers should place a white piece of paper attached to a clipboard under their plants and then shake the stem and let the bugs fall on the paper. Mites, thrips and aphids are commonly found with this method, he says.
“This approach has to be done at least once or twice a week because you need to detect those populations early in order to spread out your biological control agents,” Cloyd says.
What About Hemp?
Cultivators of all species of Cannabis sativa L. face pressures to keep their plants insect-free, including hemp growers, says Marguerite Bolt, the hemp extension specialist at Purdue University.
The challenges, however, can vary by region, Bolt says. In western states, for example, the beet leaf hopper is an increasingly problematic pest due to how it’s the vector of the beet curly top virus. Industrial hemp growers in some dry, western states are experiencing grasshoppers chewing up plants at a high rate. In the Great Lakes region, growers see caterpillar pests, including corn earworm and yellow-striped armyworm, which feed on the female flowers and in the grain heads.
Monitoring hemp plants is also integral for hemp growers, Bolt explains. “I recommend growers spend time with their plants throughout the season and make notes on what damage is occurring and when,” she says. “Certain pests are going to be difficult to manage, so strategies like altering planting or harvest dates, selecting tolerant and resistant cultivars, sanitation practices, and the use of registered pesticides may be necessary.”
Learning as much as you can about the pests that are increasingly invading your crops can also help, Bolt says. She adds, “Some pests, especially foliar feeding beetles, cause some ugly damage, but if plants are larger, they can withstand a lot.”
Yeti Farms’ Shawn Honaker uses a propane-fired weed burner, resembling a Bush Hog mower, attached to the back of a pickup truck, he says, “but instead of blades, we use propane flames that penetrate the soil and destroy as many grasshopper eggs as we can.”Photo courtesy Yeti Farms
Cloyd highlights an issue for hybrid growers who manage both hemp and other commercial crops. “For outdoor hemp growers that have hemp close to corn or soybean fields, during harvest the hemp will be more susceptible to insects moving in, such as the corn earworm.” (The corn earworm is a common pest of corn, as well as tomatoes and several other crops, according to Purdue University’s Entomology Extension.) “That’s why you have to get proactive,” says Cloyd.
For a more extreme solution to stave off invasive pests, growers can fight fire with … well, fire. Honaker uses a propane-fired weed burner, resembling a Bush Hog mower, attached to the back of a pickup truck, “but instead of blades,” he says, “we use propane flames that penetrate the soil and destroy as many grasshopper eggs as we can. That’s what we call our organic weed killer.”
David Silverberg is a freelance journalist who writes about cannabis and the cannabis industry.
Author: mscannabiz.com
MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.
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Feds provide anti-cannabis group a platform to bash legalization (Newsletter: September 15, 2025)
DC marijuana expungement repeal advances in Congress; CA cannabis tax relief bill to gov; MA psychedelics vote; Study: Bongs don’t filter effectively
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/ TOP THINGS TO KNOW
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provided a federally hosted platform for the prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana to claim that legalization does not diminish the illicit market and harms youth, despite data to the contrary.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved a bill to overturn a Washington, D.C. marijuana expungements law that was enacted by local officials in the nation’s capital.
The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations & Accountability has scheduled a hearing about “how China is using marijuana to build a criminal network across America” for Thursday—though witnesses are currently unknown.
California lawmakers sent Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) a bill to pause a recently enacted tax hike on marijuana products, with the Assembly unanimously agreeing to the Senate’s amendments to the legislation.
The Massachusetts legislature’s Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery approved a bill to create a psychedelic therapy pilot program.
A new study comparing marijuana consumption methods found that “bong water does not seem to significantly filter out any compound from the smoke”—though the paper has now been withdrawn “because there may be a conflicting bureaucracy issue due to the location this research was performed.”
- Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry “results from both the bong and joint smoke show similar smoke composition. No compounds between 5 to 350 g/mol were completely filtered by the bong water.”
The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission is now accepting applications for 24 new marijuana dispensary business licenses—with six reserved for social equity applicants and six reserved for worker-owned cooperatives.
The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration reported that dispensaries have sold $193.1 million worth of medical cannabis products so far this year, putting the state on pace to set a new annual record.
/ FEDERAL
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) commended law enforcement officials for taking action against illegal marijuana grow operations.
The House bill to designate psychedelic therapy centers of excellence got one new cosponsor for a total of 13.
/ STATES
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) signed revised medical cannabis regulations.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is considering an executive order to address intoxicating hemp products.
Texas’s lieutenant governor criticized Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) hemp executive order.
New Jersey’s Senate president said he supports legalizing limited home cultivation of marijuana and the creation of a state bank to serve cannabis businesses.
California regulators announced a recall of marijuana products due to noncompliant packaging and labeling, and inability to verify they were manufactured using good manufacturing practices.
Nevada regulators sent a bulletin about marijuana products that failed microbials testing.
New York regulators reached an agreement with marijuana dispensaries facing potential closure under a zoning law dispute that will allow the businesses to continue operating for at least five months.
Delaware regulators launched a social equity financial assistance grant program for cannabis businesses.
Oregon regulators will hold an advisory meeting about changes to cannabis rules on Tuesday.
—
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Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
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/ LOCAL
New York City’s mayor was filmed in a marijuana dispensary saying, “It smells good in here.”
The Boston, Massachusetts Cannabis Board will meet on Wednesday.
/ INTERNATIONAL
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that if cocaine were legalized worldwide, “there would be no destruction of the Amazon rainforest.”
A Netherlands court ordered a cannabis cultivation company to address odor issues.
/ SCIENCE & HEALTH
A study of UK doctors found that 87 percent would be open to prescribing medical cannabis to manage chronic pain.
A study’s results “support the therapeutic potential of liposome-based co-delivery of CBD and [celecoxib] in [glioblastoma multiforme] therapy.”
/ ADVOCACY, OPINION & ANALYSIS
The chair of the Florida Democratic Party tweeted about an upcoming congressional hearing on Chinese involvement in illegal marijuana operations, saying, “Simple solution…legalize and regulate.”
/ BUSINESS
RISE Dispensary workers in York, Pennsylvania are on strike.
/ CULTURE
Bryan Cranston spoke about microdosing psilocybin for the first time.
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Author: mscannabiz.com
MScannaBIZ for all you Mississippi Cannabis News and Information.
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