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Local cannabis operators urge council to lower city taxes in public comment
Summary
Several cannabis dispensary owners told the joint committee that high local taxes and enforcement practices are harming licensed cannabis businesses and urged the city to reduce taxes under Measure M; the committee did not take immediate action on taxation.
During public comment at a joint Government Operations and Public Works committee meeting on March 11, multiple cannabis dispensary owners said the city's tax and enforcement environment threatens licensed businesses.
Daniel Sosa, who identified himself as the operator of four dispensaries, told the committee: "We only need one thing, and that is a reduction in taxes." Sosa said licensed dispensaries face a 10 percent local tax rate and argued the rate is disproportionate to taxes applied to other categories of retail; he cited a Cannabis Regulation Commission report urging council action and noted Measure M gives the council authority to adjust local cannabis taxes.
Madison Shockley III, who also identified himself as a dispensary owner in South Los Angeles, said the industry has been "still suffering," and criticized the council for not acting on earlier recommendations from the Cannabis Regulation Commission.
The committee did not take up a tax-reduction motion during this hearing. Other public commenters raised unrelated concerns; one speaker, Scott Marcus, delivered a profane and disruptive statement that referenced a pending court case (Superior Court No. BS166039) and criticized city officials, but the committee did not address his accusations on the record.
The committee's formal agenda for the day focused on MyLA 3-1-1 system issues; any policy changes to cannabis taxation would require separate committee consideration and formal motions.
