Make Cannabis More Affordable

The current tax structure

Local cultivation faces a tax tied to square footage.

Desert Hot Springs Municipal Code Chapter 3.33 imposes a City tax on recreational cannabis cultivation based on square footage used in connection with cultivation. California also administers a separate state cannabis excise tax and generally applies sales and use tax to retail cannabis sales, subject to statutory exemptions.

These are different layers of taxation. The City can decide whether to keep its own cannabis-specific taxes, but a City ordinance cannot repeal California’s state excise tax.

Edward’s position

Give cannabis businesses fair treatment.

My position is clear: cannabis businesses should be treated like any other businesses. I support eliminating Desert Hot Springs’ special cannabis taxes, including the cultivation tax based on square footage. Cannabis products should be subject to the same ordinary sales tax structure as other products, not additional City taxes simply because the products are cannabis-based.

Lowering these barriers will help businesses compete, create jobs, and strengthen our local economy. It can also make the cannabis market more affordable for consumers. These are goals of my proposal, not a guarantee of a particular price or number of new jobs.

A responsible local change

Review the costs and adopt a clear ordinance.

The City should publish the revenue it receives from each cannabis-specific tax, the costs of administering them, and the likely budget effect of repeal. It should hear from licensed businesses, workers, consumers, and residents before changing the code. Any ordinance should state plainly which local taxes end and preserve ordinary rules that apply to businesses generally.