9.18.25 - California’s Cannabis Cash Crop: Half a Billion in Taxes, and Counting

By Alan Gaul, VP., Marketing & Brand - TASI Bank

California just dropped its mid-year report card, and let’s just say the grades are blazing. Cannabis tax revenues for the first half of 2025? A cool $502.8 million — half a billion in six months, according to CDTFA data via KTLA5. That’s $243.1 million in Q1, followed by an even higher $259.7 million in Q2. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s $147.3 million in excise taxes and another $112.4 million in sales taxes flowing straight to Sacramento.

Since Prop 64 kicked in back in 2018, cannabis sales have now racked up more than $7.3 billion in total tax revenue. That includes nearly $3.9 billion in excise taxes and over $2.9 billion in sales taxes — with enough cash left over to fund more than a few round trips to the moon (or at least a few dozen California infrastructure projects).

But here’s where it gets interesting: lawmakers just passed a bill to reverse a 25% excise tax hike that took effect on July 1. If Governor Newsom signs it, the excise tax rate stays put at 15% until 2028. For an industry already carrying the weight of compliance, distribution, and razor-thin margins, this isn’t just a lifeline — it’s oxygen.

So, what’s the Maverick takeaway? California’s cannabis economy isn’t slowing down — it’s adapting, recalibrating, and proving its staying power as a tax engine. Every dollar collected isn’t just revenue, it’s recognition: this industry is no longer in the shadows; it’s fueling California’s financial future.

Bankers, growers, distributors, policymakers — the tide’s moving. Either you’re riding the wave, or you’re stuck watching from the shore.