California raised $283.7 million from legal cannabis sales during the third quarter of the year, including $176.8 million from the excise tax and $106.9 million in sales taxes from cannabis sales. The figures include revenues collected during the brief tax hike to 19% which took effect during the quarter but was ultimately reduced back down to 15%.
The totals also reflect the state’s vendor compensation program, which allowed eligible cannabis vendors to retain more than $1.99 million in the third quarter. The vendor compensation program allows retailers who received an equity fee waiver from the Department of Cannabis Control to retain 20% of the cannabis excise tax due on their retail sales of cannabis products for one year. The program began on January 1, 2023, and ends on December 31.
Since the launch of adult-use sales in the state in January 2018, cannabis sales have generated more than $7.61 billion in tax revenue for California, including more than $4.05 billion in cannabis excise tax and more than $3.06 billion in sales tax, including $500.6 million in cultivation taxes collected through July 1, 2022 – when the cultivation tax was eliminated as a result of cannabis tax reform legislation.
