Cannabis Businesses In California Are Warning That State Taxes Are Crushing Entire Industry

California’s cannabis industry is warning the state that it is "in crisis" and that without relief, it will only get worse.

On Thursday, cannabis advocates, small farmers, and business owners gathered outside the State Capitol in Sacramento to plead their case for assistance for their ongoing problems, NBC News reports. The assembled interest groups called on the legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom to eliminate the cultivation and excise taxes for retailers, particularly those operated by people of color.

“Not only has the state fallen short in promises to right the wrongs inflicted upon Black and brown communities impacted by the war on drugs, but it has also perpetuated regressive war-on-drugs 2.0 policies through oppressive taxation, which must end,” said Amber Senter, a co-founder and the executive director of Supernova Women, a nonprofit that focuses on aiding minority women business owners in the industry.

Members of California's cannabis businesses have been calling on California to do more to overhaul its current tax system for their industry.

Last month, a group of two dozen executives started a Change.org petition that detailed their complaints aimed at the state. In it, they said minority-owned businesses were threatened by assaults and burglaries that are left unaddressed by law enforcement, the continued power of the illicit market, and California’s failure to expand opportunities for legal operators.

Complaints about California’s taxes on the industry figured prominently as well. The petitioners cautioned that the high taxes on legal dispensaries was empowering illegal markets, which they say are more dangerous for consumers. To remedy this, they called on California lawmakers to eliminate the cultivation and excise taxes to address these shortcomings.

Gov. Newsom signaled that he is ready to provide help to the cannabis industry. As part of his budget proposal for 2022-2023, Newsom said he supported a cannabis tax reform as requested.

“It is my goal to look at tax policy to stabilize the market,” Newsom said. “At the same time, it is also my goal to get these municipalities to wake up to the opportunities to get rid of the illegal market, the illicit market, and provide support in a regulatory framework for the legal market.”