Proposed Bill Estimated to Cost $250 Million in State Sales Tax Revenue and Up to 41,000 Jobs LOS ANGELES , Aug. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a blow to California's already strained budget deficit, Assembly Bill 2223 is projected to have a negative fiscal impact across sectors. The proposed legislation aims to monopolize the state's hemp market by granting exclusive full spectrum hemp retail control to marijuana dispensaries.
If passed unamended, AB 2223 will force the closure of California hemp retailers, jeopardizing approximately $250 million in sales tax revenues and 41,210 jobs, according to the 2023 National Cannabinoid Report by Whitney Economics, the most comprehensive analysis based on state-level data. Chad Paydo , owner of Petaluma , Lafayette , and Concord Sunmed | Your CBD Store locations, stated, "Proponents of AB 2223 argue that any fiscal losses will be offset by increased sales at dispensaries. Since all of my stores are located where dispensaries are banned, this claim is simply false and misleading.
" According to the California Department of Cannabis Control , 54% (289 out of 539) of cities and counties in California do not allow dispensaries. Of the 18 independently owned and operated Sunmed | Your CBD Store locations in the state, 15 are situated in areas where dispensaries are banned. "Since October 2021 , California Sunmed | Your CBD Store locations have generated an estimated $11.
5 million in hemp CBD product sales and contributed approximately $410,000 .