📉 Tax Hikes Are Not a Solution—They’re a Symptom of Misunderstanding

📉 Tax Hikes Are Not a Solution—They’re a Symptom of Misunderstanding
California’s latest moves—San Diego’s 25% cannabis tax increase and the looming state excise tax hike—reveal a troubling trend in cannabis policy. Regulators continue to treat the industry as a revenue fix rather than a legitimate, struggling sector.

Raising taxes on legal operators in the midst of budget deficits may seem like a quick win, but in reality, it’s shortsighted. These increases don’t just hit businesses—they hit consumers, incentivize the illicit market, and jeopardize long-term industry viability. We’re seeing a compounding effect where legal compliance becomes economically unviable, particularly for small and mid-size operators.

If the goal is a healthy, regulated market that contributes to public funds and community well-being, tax policy must reflect the economic realities of the cannabis supply chain. Otherwise, we risk dismantling the very system we worked so hard to bring above ground.

It’s time to move beyond extraction-based thinking and toward sustainable, inclusive policy design.