Off The Charts marijuana dispensary in McFarland is one of the few legal shops in Kern County. Under a new bill that keeps the tax at 15%, the business could see more stability and more revenue flowing back into the community.
In July 2025, California’s cannabis excise tax jumped from 15% to 19%.
But last month, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill rolling it back to 15% through June 2028, pausing a proposed hike to 25%.
“The tax definitely hurt our business when that happened in July you know what I mean,” said manager of Off the Charts Carlos Pizarro. “We saw numbers kind of like rising and then the tax increased and numbers started to decline.”
On Friday afternoon, sales were on the rise at Off the Charts Dispensary.
Recreational marijuana dispensaries are one of the highest taxed businesses. They pay a state sales tax of 7.25 percent, an excise tax of 15 percent, plus a city tax of 15 percent, for a total of 37.5 percent. In turn, these taxes are passed on to consumers.
CEO of Off the Charts Cannabis Retail Norman Yousif says the increase of 19% raised consumer prices, taking a toll on daily sales.
“You know we’ve seen a lot of the regulars instead of coming in twice they come maybe once a week or once every couple weeks,” said Yousif.
According to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, since January 2018, cannabis sales in California have generated over $7.3 billion in tax revenue.
Yousif says that with the tax going back to 15% this allows them to only keep prices within reason, but continue to financially give back to the community.
“There was a handful of stuff you know we help the city out with you know getting them a Christmas Tree in front of their spot and we did that it was a beautiful thing,” said Yousif. “Someone needed mats for I think Taekwondo, bro go ahead all day take it.”
Again, this tax relief is only temporary until June of 2028, it’s unclear as to what will happen after that.
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