California’s Cannabis Tax Hike: A Political Blunder Threatening a Fragile Industry

California’s legal cannabis industry is facing a crisis brought on not by market forces alone but by heavy-handed government policies that threaten the very survival of countless small operators. As of July 1, the state implemented a significant excise tax hike on marijuana sales, raising the rate from 15% to 19%. This increase stems from a political arrangement made three years ago, purportedly to ‘stabilize’ the market but which now risks pushing businesses and consumers alike back into the shadows of the illicit trade. Industry Alarm Bells Growers and dispensary owners across California are sounding alarm bells about the devastating...