NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — California collected nearly $248 million in cannabis tax revenue in the first quarter of 2026, according to the state’s Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The cannabis excise tax helps support programs such as childcare, early childhood development, medical research, and youth substance abuse prevention. 

In San Diego County, more than $520,000 has been collected this 2025/2026 fiscal year through the local cannabis tax, which funds services like parks, roads and fire safety under voter-approved Measure A in 2022 that taxes businesses in unincorporated areas.

At Sessions by the Bay in National City, the first and only cannabis dispensary, lounge and restaurant combined in San Diego County, staff report steady growth in demand. 

“We have more people coming in than ever; we’re seeing at least 100 new customers every single day,” said Christina Cassidy, customer engagement and marketing strategist for the business.

However, the multiple layers of taxation create challenges for consumers and businesses. 

“When we see consumers coming in, they’re definitely looking for value within the price that they have in their mind, and sometimes that can be tough in this industry where we have so many different kinds of taxes and different regulations that make things a little bit more expensive,” Cassidy said. “But we try to really keep things at a price range that consumers can afford.”

According to the CDTFA, the tax structure includes state excise taxes based on gross receipts from sales, with sales tax applied on top of that amount. 

“There are a variety of taxes on all cannabis businesses in California, from the state level, to the county level, to the local zip code level,” Cassidy said.

Since legal cannabis sales began in 2018, the CDTFA notes that California’s market has generated more than $8.1 billion in tax revenue, according to state data.

“It’s just no secret and also with the population of California the size that it is, that there would be healthy tax revenue once legalization came into place,” said Jackie Bryant, editor for a cannabis magazine.