Tax on all cannabis purchases in California increased by four percent on Tuesday.
When Marijuana was first legalized in 2016, California voters also approved two taxes for consumers: a 15 percent retail tax and a four percent cultivation tax. But as the industry struggled to stay afloat, lawmakers repealed the second tax for three years. On Tuesday, that pause expired, increasing taxes to nearly 20 percent for all cannabis purchases.
So, to see how dispensaries are impacted by this new tax, I went to Barbary Coast Dispensary and Smoke Lounge down on Mission Street.
It’s as if you’re walking into any downtown bar with a saloon feel. At the back, around the corner is a small red room with plush walls and floors and two red pool tables. Turn one more corner through double doors and find yourself in a lounge with dimly-lit booths for intimate smoking and the smell of fresh marijuana in the air.
Manager Bridget Awesome, said that she could foresee some customers deciding not to go dispensaries anymore.
Awesome said, "We definitely have some customers who will see after tax prices and then be like, ‘maybe I should just go to my homie.’ and I’m like 'uhhhh it’s actually more controlled here, you actually know what you’re getting,' it’s different."
Budtender Sam Salzeider had a different take. He said, " It's a few extra bucks here and there. Do people feel it? Yes, they do. Do I think they're gonna freak out and never come back? Probably not."
The money from the tax primarily supports childcare services, environmental efforts and law enforcement programs.
But it could go away once again. The Assembly passed a bill at the start of June to revert the tax back to 15 percent until 2030. Now it goes to the Senate. The next hearing is on July 9.
