High taxes and overregulation are a big buzzkill.
A bill was introduced Monday in the California legislature that would give legal cannabis businesses a tax break to help them thrive and better compete with the underground market.
In a release announcing the proposed bill, state officials said cannabis taxes can eventually generate $8 to $20 billion in annual revenue for California. The current taxes imposed on the state’s cannabis industry were part of Proposition 64, the adult-use legalization measure passed by California voters in November 2016.
California started selling legal marijuana last year, but some observers have blamed the aggressive state tax rates and overregulation for continuing underground pot sales.