timesofsandiego.com Open in urlscan Pro
192.0.78.203  Public Scan

Form analysis
5 forms found in the DOM

GET https://timesofsandiego.com/

<form role="search" method="get" class="search-form" action="https://timesofsandiego.com/">
  <label for="search-form-1">
    <span class="screen-reader-text">Search for:</span>
  </label>
  <input type="search" id="search-form-1" class="search-field" placeholder="Search …" value="" name="s">
  <button type="submit" class="search-submit">
    <svg class="svg-icon" width="28" height="28" aria-hidden="true" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
      <path
        d="M15.5 14h-.79l-.28-.27C15.41 12.59 16 11.11 16 9.5 16 5.91 13.09 3 9.5 3S3 5.91 3 9.5 5.91 16 9.5 16c1.61 0 3.09-.59 4.23-1.57l.27.28v.79l5 4.99L20.49 19l-4.99-5zm-6 0C7.01 14 5 11.99 5 9.5S7.01 5 9.5 5 14 7.01 14 9.5 11.99 14 9.5 14z">
      </path>
      <path d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none"></path>
    </svg> <span class="screen-reader-text"> Search </span>
  </button>
</form>

---

GET https://timesofsandiego.com/

<form role="search" method="get" class="search-form" action="https://timesofsandiego.com/">
  <label for="search-form-2">
    <span class="screen-reader-text">Search for:</span>
  </label>
  <input type="search" id="search-form-2" class="search-field" placeholder="Search …" value="" name="s">
  <button type="submit" class="search-submit">
    <svg class="svg-icon" width="28" height="28" aria-hidden="true" role="img" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24">
      <path
        d="M15.5 14h-.79l-.28-.27C15.41 12.59 16 11.11 16 9.5 16 5.91 13.09 3 9.5 3S3 5.91 3 9.5 5.91 16 9.5 16c1.61 0 3.09-.59 4.23-1.57l.27.28v.79l5 4.99L20.49 19l-4.99-5zm-6 0C7.01 14 5 11.99 5 9.5S7.01 5 9.5 5 14 7.01 14 9.5 11.99 14 9.5 14z">
      </path>
      <path d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none"></path>
    </svg> <span class="screen-reader-text"> Search </span>
  </button>
</form>

---

<form aria-describedby="wp-block-jetpack-mailchimp_consent-text">
  <p>
    <input aria-label="Enter your email" placeholder="Enter your email" required="" title="Enter your email" type="email" name="email">
  </p>
  <div class="wp-block-jetpack-button wp-block-button" style=""><button class="wp-block-button__link" style="" data-id-attr="mailchimp-button-block-1" id="mailchimp-button-block-1" type="submit">Subscribe</button></div>
  <p id="wp-block-jetpack-mailchimp_consent-text"> By clicking subscribe, you agree to share your email address with <a href="https://timesofsandiego.com">Times of San Diego</a> to receive our <strong>free</strong> newsletter and breaking news
    alerts. We won't use your email for any other purpose, and you can opt out at any time via an unsubscribe link. </p>
</form>

---

POST

<form id="mc4wp-form-1" class="mc4wp-form mc4wp-form-137115" method="post" data-id="137115" data-name="Newsletter sign up form">
  <div class="mc4wp-form-fields">
    <p> Our free newsletter is delivered at 8 a.m. daily. <br><br>
      <label>Enter address: <input type="email" name="EMAIL" placeholder="Your email address" required="">
      </label>
    </p>
    <p>
      <input type="submit" value="Sign Up">
    </p>
  </div><label style="display: none !important;">Leave this field empty if you're human: <input type="text" name="_mc4wp_honeypot" value="" tabindex="-1" autocomplete="off"></label><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_timestamp"
    value="1687820743"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_id" value="137115"><input type="hidden" name="_mc4wp_form_element_id" value="mc4wp-form-1">
  <div class="mc4wp-response"></div>
</form>

---

POST

<form id="wp-gdpr-cookie-notice-form" class="wp-gdpr-cookie-notice-form" method="POST">
  <div class="wp-gdpr-cookie-notice-controls">
    <div class="wp-gdpr-cookie-notice-submit">
      <button type="submit" class="wp-gdpr-cookie-notice-button">OK</button>
    </div>
  </div>
  <input type="hidden" name="functional" value="1">
  <input type="hidden" name="preferences" value="1">
  <input type="hidden" name="analytics" value="1">
  <input type="hidden" name="marketing" value="1">
  <input type="hidden" name="action" value="wp_gdpr_cookie_notice_submit">
  <input type="hidden" id="wp_gdpr_cookie_notice_nonce" name="wp_gdpr_cookie_notice_nonce" value="933647abc2">
</form>

---

Text Content

Close
 * JOBS
 * HOMES

Search for: Search
 * All Articles
 * Politics
 * Crime
 * Business
 * Sports
 * Education
 * Arts
 * Military
 * Tech
 * Health
 * Life
 * Opinion
 * Obituaries
 * Press Releases

 * About
 * Staff
 * Contact
 * Support
 * Advertise
 * Post an Obituary
 * Media Kit
 * FAQ
 * Privacy Policy
 * Terms of Service

 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Instagram
 * RSS

Close
Skip to content
 * About
 * Staff
 * Contact
 * Support
 * Advertise
 * Post an Obituary
 * Media Kit
 * FAQ
 * Privacy Policy
 * Terms of Service

 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Instagram
 * RSS

Times of San Diego

Local News and Opinion for San Diego

 * JOBS
 * HOMES

Open Search
Search for: Search
Menu
 * All Articles
 * Politics
 * Crime
 * Business
 * Sports
 * Education
 * Arts
 * Military
 * Tech
 * Health
 * Life
 * Opinion
 * Obituaries
 * Press Releases

Home » Opinion » Opinion: Legal California Cannabis Sellers Closing Amid
Excessive Taxes, Local Bans

Posted inOpinion


OPINION: LEGAL CALIFORNIA CANNABIS SELLERS CLOSING AMID EXCESSIVE TAXES, LOCAL
BANS

by Tiffany Devitt 18 hours agoJune 26, 2023


SHARE THIS:

 * Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
 * Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
 * Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
 * Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
 * Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
 * Click to print (Opens in new window)
 * 

A large-scale illegal marijuana-cultivation operation in Valley Center. Courtesy
San Diego Sheriff’s Department

The chief financial officer of the cannabis company MariMed was recently asked
where her team was considering expanding. Her reply: “Not California.” 

Susan Villare is not alone in that
sentiment. Numerous well-capitalized businesses are pulling up stakes and
abandoning substantial investments rather than face mounting losses. Many
investors describe the market as “brutal” and “toxic.”



Currently two out of every three cannabis purchases are made in the illicit
market. Evidence suggests that disparity is getting worse. Legal sales have been
on a two-year slide. 

Another symptom of turbulent times is business failures. About 15% of
cultivators have surrendered their licenses this year; others are letting fields
go fallow, unable to fund this year’s harvest.

Things are no better further up the supply chain. A year ago, there was a robust
brand community. In May 2022, there were close to 1,500 brands in the market. A
year later, less than a thousand remain.



Distributors are also struggling. A 2022 report estimates that they are sitting
on about $600 million dollars of invoices that retailers are unable or unwilling
to pay. 

As for California’s cannabis retailers, numerous industry observers are warning
of yet another “extinction event.” The probable closure of hundreds of
dispensaries will further destabilize the industry as farmers and manufacturers
lose access to legal-market customers.

For all the talk of equity and “righting the wrongs” of the drug war, all of
this is taking place in an industry without bankruptcy protections, where
individuals carry personal liability for business taxes, and where businesses
are barred from writing off normal expenses.

In other words, behind the industry’s potential demise are thousands of
intimate, personal stories of financial ruin. 


GET TIMES OF SAN DIEGO DAILY BY EMAIL

We'll send you the top local news stories every morning at 8 a.m.

Subscribe

By clicking subscribe, you agree to share your email address with Times of San
Diego to receive our free newsletter and breaking news alerts. We won't use your
email for any other purpose, and you can opt out at any time via an unsubscribe
link.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please
reload the page and try again.

Proposition 64, the 2016 initiative to legalize cannabis, began with the
statement: “It is the intent of the People … to take marijuana production and
sales out of the hands of the illegal market … to tax the growth and sale of
marijuana in a way that drives out the illicit market …”



Our failure to achieve these voter-mandated goals is the root cause of much of
the industry’s distress. So, what went wrong?

With the benefit of hindsight, it’s clear that Prop. 64 had two fatal flaws:
high taxes and local control.

The state excise tax on a bottle of wine is 4 cents. For an eighth-ounce of
cannabis, it’s $4.90 or over 100 times more. Products are also subjected to
countless local taxes. A single product may be taxed at cultivation,
manufacturing, distribution and retail. Some jurisdictions even charge a “road
tax” for merely transporting products.

These taxes compound the supply chain, resulting in an aggregate burden that’s
50% or more of the original price. 

That’s hardly the way to “drive out the illicit market.” Absent larger tax
reforms, cracking down against illegal cannabis will continue to be a losing
game of whack-a-mole.



The second fatal flaw is local control, or the requirement that cannabis
businesses receive permits from both the local jurisdiction and the state. That
sounds reasonable. But in practice, it’s led to cannabis retail bans in much of
the state. 

By allowing municipalities to opt-out of legalization, the state has essentially
ceded two-thirds of the market to criminals. In these dry zones, unregulated,
untaxed and untested cannabis is king, and consumers are still partying like
it’s 1999. 

Cannabis is one of California’s great heritage industries, along with wine,
technology and entertainment — industries we’ve nurtured and fostered with
supportive legislation and regulation.

By right, we should have a robust cannabis market that’s poised to dominate in a
post-legalization world. But achieving that will require immediate changes to
ensure legal cannabis is more accessible and less expensive for consumers.

Tiffany Devitt is a board member of the California Cannabis Industry Association
and the head of regulatory affairs for CannaCraft and March and Ash. The author
wrote this for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to
explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it matters.




SUPPORT TIMES OF SAN DIEGO

With the generous support of readers like you, Times of San Diego publishes
timely and accurate news coverage for a better-informed community. Help us grow
with a monthly contribution.

Become a supporter



Advertisement

Advertisement


Tagged: bankruptcy, California, CALmatters, criminals, dispensaries, dry
zones, local control, marijuana, taxes


GET TIMES OF SAN DIEGO BY EMAIL

Our free newsletter is delivered at 8 a.m. daily.

Enter address:



Leave this field empty if you're human:



LATEST NEWS


SAN DIEGO A TOP DESTINATION FOR 3.4M SOCAL RESIDENTS LIKELY TO TRAVEL FOR JULY 4


SDG&E’S MISSION EVOLVES AS MAJORITY NOW BUY POWER FROM COMMUNITY CHOICE
AGGREGATORS


ILLUMINA BEGINS LAYOFFS, PLANS TO EXIT PART OF SAN DIEGO CAMPUS IN AFTERMATH OF
PROXY BATTLE


EPSTEIN FAMILY AMPHITHEATER AT UCSD FILLS OPENING SEASON WITH COMEDY, CONCERTS,
MORE


CAR VEERS OFF OTAY MESA STREET, PLOWS INTO HOME




MOST POPULAR STORIES

 * Puppy Rescued from Between Rocks Available for Adoption in Carlsbad
 * In Trans-Pacific First, Miramar Marines Fly F-35C Stealth Fighters to
   Australia
 * North Island Could See More Aircraft Carrier Visits Under Navy Proposal
 * No More Child Brides: Campaign Begins to Ban Underage Marriages in California
 * Wave Coach Stoney Sees Red in 2-1 Loss to OL Reign: 'We Were Robbed at Home'



© 2023 Times of San Diego LLC. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic Privacy
Policy
 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Instagram
 * RSS




TIMES OF SAN DIEGO USES COOKIES

This website, like most media sites, uses small files called cookies to
anonymously customize the advertising that you see. Learn more about how we use
cookies in our cookie policy.

OK

6