NEWS & RESOURCES

CaCOA supports the Department's efforts to modernize cannabis testing requirements based on emerging science and data. The proposed changes include positive updates, such as clarifying outdated action levels, expanding the pesticide testing panel, and adjusting thresholds where strong safety data justifies the changes.

“A 25% tax hike on an industry that’s barely hanging on is a full-blown disaster, and absolutely should have been avoided,” Haney said. “Raising this tax is a slap in the face of small cannabis businesses who simply can’t afford it and are competing with an illegal market that is booming.”

California's legal cannabis industry achieved a crucial milestone this week as both AB 564 and AB 8 passed out of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee with unanimous support, a testament to the collective advocacy efforts of the California Cannabis Operators Association.

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Ronald Allen, co-owner of a licensed dispensary in Bakersfield, worries the tax hike could put small businesses like his at risk. "It's affecting everybody across the board, everybody from the buyers to the growers," Allen said.