NEWS & RESOURCES

A recent op-ed opposing Assembly Bill 564 (Haney) misunderstands both Proposition 64's intent and how cannabis taxes actually work. The record deserves clarification on both the law's purpose and the economic realities facing California's legal cannabis market and community programs that rely on these tax revenues.

Amy O’Gorman Jenkins, the executive director of the California Cannabis Operators Association, said the legal cannabis industry in California is subjected to an array of taxes, noting that no other age-restricted product in the state is taxed at the same rate, including alcohol and tobacco. (Newsom, AB 564)

The California Cannabis Operators Association is thrilled to announce the Senate Appropriations Committee has passed critically important legislation (AB 8 and AB 564) to protect public health and safety and the integrity of the legal cannabis market.

The legal cannabis market is in crisis, with declining sales, widespread business closures, and plummeting tax revenue. Assembly Bill 564 (Haney) restores the excise tax rate from 19% to 15%, a critical step to protect public health and stabilize the legal market. This bipartisan legislation has received widespread support in both chambers and from Governor Newsom.

Assembly Bill 8, co-sponsored by CaCOA and UFCW, provides comprehensive reforms to protect consumers and support California's legal cannabis industry by permanently banning intoxicating hemp products outside the regulated market, enhancing enforcement capabilities, requiring out-of-state manufacturers to register with California authorities, and creating pathways for legitimate businesses to work with industrial hemp within the regulated framework.

California's licensed cannabis industry takes child-resistant packaging and labeling laws extremely seriously. The overwhelming evidence shows that most violations related to youth-attractive packaging occur in the illicit cannabis and unregulated hemp markets, not within our licensed industry.