Annual Report on Tax Exemptions for Medicinal Cannabis

Annual Report on Tax Exemptions for Medicinal Cannabis Translate Our Website This Google ™ translation feature provided on the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) website is for informational purposes only. The LAO is unable to guarantee the accuracy of this translation and is therefore not liable for any inaccurate information resulting from the translation application tool. Choose your language: × Skip to main content Home --> Policy Areas Capital Outlay, Infrastructure Criminal Justice Economy and Taxes Education Environment and Natural Resources Health and Human Services Local Government State Budget Condition Transportation Other Government Areas Publications The Budget Propositions and Initiatives Staff Careers About Us Search LAO Contact Seth Kerstein Update (8/6/25): When we initially published this post, portions of it described data from 2023 rather than 2024. We have updated it to reflect 2024 data throughout. See More Publications Like This Back to the Top --> Tweet June 24, 2025 Annual Report on Tax Exemptions for Medicinal Cannabis Statutory Data Reporting Requirement. Chapter 837 of 2019 (SB 34, Wiener) established new tax exemptions for donations of medicinal cannabis. The law directs our office to submit an annual report containing data on three outcomes related to the exemptions: the number of medicinal cannabis patients served, the amount of medicinal cannabis products donated, and the amount of tax revenue lost. This report fulfills that statutory requirement for 2024. Data Source. Our office obtained the data described below from the Department of Cannabis Control and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). The data come from the state s Metrc track and trace system for licensed cannabis. In particular, the data reflect transactions that businesses identified as medicinal donations in calendar year 2024. Number of Patients Served. In 2024, licensees identified 30,215 transactions as medicinal donations. The data do not tell us who received each donation. Some patients likely received more than one donation in 2024, so this total likely overstates the number of distinct patients. For example, if a patient received six donations in 2024, then the transaction total includes that person six times. Amounts of Products Donated. As shown in Figure 1, licensees donated a wide variety of products in 2024. Figure 1 Amounts of Products Donated Under SB 34 Exemption in 2024 Product Total Packages Capsule 4,391 Edible 85,747 Extract 16,941 Flower (eighth) 16,677 Flower (gram) 3,479 Flower (half ounce) 2,835 Flower (ounce) 417 Flower (quarter) 2,204 Flower (other) 5,277 Other Concentrate 5,534 Pre Roll Flower 21,500 Pre Roll Infused 12,909 Pre Roll Leaf 813 Seeds 1 Shake (Eighth) 4 Shake (Gram) 1088 Shake (Half Ounce) 32 Shake (Ounce) 16 Shake (Quarter) 415 Tincture 6,107 Topical 3,002 Vape Cartridge 17,236 Use Tax Revenue Lost. CDTFA estimates that the 2024 revenue loss from the SB 34 use tax exemption was roughly $137,000. Revenue from the use tax goes to the state s General Fund and to local programs. Cultivation Tax Ended in 2022. The cannabis cultivation tax ended on July 1, 2022. As a result, SB 34 s cultivation tax exemption had no effect in 2024. Subscribe | California State Legislature | Online Voter Registration | Privacy Policy | Accessibility Legislative Analyst's Office | The California Legislature's Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor 925 L Street, Suite 1000 Sacramento, CA 95814 | (916) 445-4656