California's cannabis tax brings in $248M in revenue in first three months of 2026

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]California's cannabis industry is proving to be a major money maker for the state and here in San Diego County.

[00:00:06]>> New numbers show California collected nearly $250 in just the first 3 months of this year.

[00:00:15]News 8's Esmeralda Perez is here to show us where that money is going. Esmeralda?

[00:00:18]>> Well, Carlo and Marcela, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the cannabis excise tax supports programs for child care and early childhood development, medical research, youth substance abuse prevention, among many others. But, those taxes also mean higher costs at checkout.

[00:00:38]>> At Sessions by the Bay in National City, the only cannabis dispensary lounge and restaurant combination in San Diego County, staff say demand is growing.

[00:00:48]>> We have more people coming in than ever.

[00:00:51]We're seeing at least 100 new customers every single day.

[00:00:54]>> California's legal cannabis sales has generated about $248 million in state tax revenue in the first quarter of 2026.

[00:01:04]In San Diego County, more than $520,000 has been collected this fiscal year through the local cannabis tax, which funds services like parks, roads, and fire safety under a voter-approved measure that taxes businesses in unincorporated areas.

[00:01:22]>> When we see consumers coming in, they're definitely looking for value within the price that they have in their mind. And sometimes that can be tough in an industry where we have so many different kinds of taxes and different regulations that make things a little bit more expensive, but we try to really keep things in at a price range that consumers can afford.

[00:01:45]>> And those taxes stack up. State law requires retailers to collect a cannabis excise tax based on gross receipts, and then sales tax is applied on top of that.

[00:01:56]>> There are a variety of taxes on all cannabis businesses in California from state level to the county level to the local zip code level.

[00:02:07]>> State data also shows California's cannabis market has generated more than 8.1 billion dollars in tax revenue since legal sales began in 2018.

[00:02:19]>> It's just no secret. Um, also with the population of California the size that it is that um, there would be healthy tax revenue once legalization came into place.

[00:02:28]>> And locally the city of San Diego brought in nearly 20 million dollars in cannabis tax revenue last year after the city council raised the local tax rate to 10% to help close a budget gap. Now, the full breakdown of San Diego County's latest cannabis tax figures will be posted on the Treasurer Tax Collector's website at the end of this quarter which is June 30th. Carlo, back to you.

[00:02:50]>> That'll be eye-opening for some. Thanks, Esmeralda.