If the Republicans retake the House in 2022, as current forecasts have it, that will likely set the effort back by at least another two years.
The consensus among analysts seems to be that if the legalization bill in the Senate—the House has already passed a similar bill—were to pass in its current form, it would be less than ideal for both the cannabis industry and consumers.
The vast majority of weed sold in California is sold illegally, thanks to high taxes, overregulation and home rule, which allows localities to deny licenses to cannabis businesses.
According to Hirsch Jain, a cannabis consultant quoted recently in by the trade publication MJBizDaily, in the past two years the number of municipalities and counties issuing cannabis licenses has risen from about a third of the total to about 40%.
On top of a cultivation tax and a normal sales tax, every legal weed sale is slapped with a 15% state excise tax, plus whatever local taxes are levied.
It’s likely that California will by then have lowered its tax rate, though probably not by nearly enough to offset the effect of the new federal tax.
Stringent, though often necessary, regulations in California and elsewhere are already dissuading would-be entrepreneurs from entering the business.
“Once the costs of regulatory compliance and operational expenses are factored in, the environment for cannabis businesses under the proposed legislation would be encumbered, especially for small or under-capitalized businesses,” said Giadha A.
A new strain of the coronavirus has been found in California.
Other items on the agenda include a potential tax measure on the ballot next summer, Councilman Ash Kalra trying to tighten smoking laws and a gadfly/mayoral candidate demanding city staff repent for a particular project.
The Biden admin is Unable to Account for almost 5,000 minors released from HHS shelters thru May 2021.