California’s excise tax revenue from July to September was about $177 million dollars. That’s the most in four years. It came from a temporary excise tax hike during the same period.
That revenue for the cannabis excise tax was 20% higher in the third quarter than in the second quarter of 2025, said Steve Bunnell, a spokesperson for the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. “And we can say without a doubt that that was due to the increase in the excise tax rate from 15% to 19%.”
That excise tax, added on top of the retail price, meant customers paid more per purchase and the state collected more…