What's The Deal With The Proposed Cannabis Tax On LA County Ballots?

One of the L.A. County items you’ll see on your ballot is Measure C, which is all about asking voters if they agree with a tax on cannabis businesses in unincorporated parts of the county.

Where Measure C revenue would go

Revenues produced by the tax would go to the County’s General Fund and will be used to basically boost the economy and workforce through programs and initiatives like the Cannabis Equity Program. California officials say they want to “lower barriers to the cannabis industry for those hit hardest by the War on Drugs.”

If Measure C is passed, it will begin on July 1, 2023. It would impose:

• An initial tax rate of $7 per square foot of cultivation
• A 4% tax on gross receipts on retail (gross receipts are the total amount of money made, before you subtract any expenses)
• A 3% tax rate on distribution revenue 

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The interesting thing about this measure, however, is that commercial cannabis is still illegal in unincorporated areas of the county. So, even if Measure C passes, a lot of things need to happen before a tax could even be applied — the Board of Supervisors would still have to vote to legalize commercial cannabis and businesses would still have to get licenses. Check out the arguments for and against this bill as well as the potential financial impact in Gillian Morán Pérez’s breakdown on it here.

Key Dates to Remember: 

Nov. 8: Election Day and deadline to return your vote-by-mail ballot.

If you still have questions, LAist will be having a Voter Game Plan AMA (that’s short for Ask Me Anything). Join my colleagues Frank Stoltze, Brianna Lee and Catilin Hernández at 1 p.m. today on Reddit to answer all of your questions about the elections. Join in here.

As always, stay happy and healthy, folks. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

More headlines

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*At LAist we will always bring you the news freely, but occasionally we do include links to other publications that may be behind a paywall. Thank you for understanding! 

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Correction: In yesterday’s newsletter, we stated that Prop 29 requires a doctor to be on site. The proposition requires at least one physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant on site during all treatment hours.

Wait! One More Thing...

A Lighthouse Surprise In Palos Verdes

The Bluffs of Palos Verdes

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Caroline Champlin

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LAist

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One of my favorite places in L.A. is the beach at Palos Verdes. I’ll never forget traveling there as a teen with one of my aunts (who is quite fancy!) who wanted to give me a slice of pleasure, leisure and fine living. We grabbed some wine, crackers, cheese, and other charcuterie items from Ralphs on Hawthorne, hiked on the trail and sat down on a bench overlooking the beach to chat about life. It was one of the best days I ever had as a teenager.

Since then, I’ve trained for half marathons there and I’ve dipped my feet into the ocean with my nieces as well.

But I’m just now finding out that I’ve been missing out on a little treasure: the nearly 100-year-old Point Vicente Lighthouse! Listener Lyn Watanabe wrote to us in the spring to tell us about this special place and took How To LA host Brian De Los Santos on a little walk around the bluffs there. If you do the whole loop, it's about 5 miles. Listen to the latest How To LA podcast. Brian also gives a cute little tip about when to see live whales swim by. I just might have to go soon! Check the episode out here. If you have a favorite outdoor spot you’d like us to check out, tell us about it here.

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