Show Me the Money: Cannabis Revenue and Cities in Los Angeles County
Since the passage of Proposition 64 in 2016, California state and local governments have collected millions in new revenue from the sale and cultivation of recreational cannabis. Proposition 64 directed state agencies to invest a substantial part of the new state revenues in services to support low-income and vulnerable children and adults, such as youth substance abuse prevention and treatment, mental health services, job training and placement, and legal services for the formerly incarcerated.Through local ballot measures, numerous local governments have put in place additional taxes on cannabis businesses. Whereas Proposition 64 provided the state with guidelines in how to spend the new revenue, the measure was silent on the topic of local cannabis tax policy. Local governments have complete discretion when it comes to taxing and spending cannabis at the local level.This report sheds light on how local governments in Los Angeles County are collecting and spending local cannabis tax revenues.