1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

As a medical marijuana user and advocate, I am writing to urge your support for freezing the cannabis excise tax at 15% in the 2025 Budget Act. This tax increase will directly harm the constituents you represent. A 25% cannabis tax increase will drive consumers to the illegal black market, where cannabis products are untested, and unsafe. Two San Jose cannabis dispensaries, MedMen and Herbs, have closed, and the city stands to lose millions in revenue. The closures and shrinking revenues are the result of customers leaving the legal market because of the high taxes. Taxes are compounded and if the excise tax goes to 19%, the overall taxes will exceed 42%! This will especially hurt seniors and the chronically ill, as they have to decide whether to buy their medication or pay for their living expenses. It should NOT be this way! There is nothing in your life that you pay 40% tax on; not gasoline, not alcohol, not tobacco. So why are the highest taxes on our medicine?? The Dept of cannabis Control’s 2024 report shows cannabis taxes amount to 78% of wholesale value, where alcohol is 8.4% and tobacco is 29.5%. This creates an impossible competitive disadvantage against illicit operators who pay no taxes and follow no safety regulations. The current tax burden is ALREADY unsustainable. More than 60% of cannabis sales in California already occur in the unregulated market, where products are untested, untaxed, and often dangerous. Research confirms that cannabis consumers are highly price-sensitive: even a 1% price differential can drive consumers away from the legal market. Raising taxes will only accelerate this trend, putting public health at risk while reducing state revenue. We are being forced to purchase unsafe products in the illegal black market to avoid these taxes! We need your help with this. I respectfully urge you to include language freezing the cannabis excise tax at 15% in the 2025 Budget Act trailer bill legislation.