Sacramento, CA – Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Western States Council issued the following statement decrying a cannabis excise tax freeze not being included in the 2025-2026 California state budget. The following statement may be attributed to Kristin Heidelbach, Legislative Director, UFCW Western States Council:
“UFCW has been fighting hard all year to prevent the state from raising the cannabis excise tax to 19% because we know this increase will only allow illicit cannabis operators to flourish while harming the legal industry. Legal cannabis businesses are already struggling to stay afloat, and more and more businesses will close with the excise tax rate going up. The cost of doing business is so high here in California and legal businesses can’t afford to compete with the illicit industry.
“We’re disappointed that we couldn’t get this done in the state budget because failed businesses don’t pay taxes. However, we are still prioritizing AB 564 (Haney) to put the cannabis excise tax rate back to 15 percent. This bill is sorely needed to prevent unregulated, untested and untaxed product getting in the hands of consumers through an empowered illicit industry. We look forward to having this bill heard in the Senate Revenue and Taxation committee next week and on the Senate floor.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2025
Contact: Jenna Thompson, [email protected], 949.246.1620