Source: https://www.cacoa.org/advocacy

There’s also some intertesting stuff in here that says they believe that jurisdictions within the state who aren’t for cannabis should have it anyway …

This sentence

Advocate for statewide cannabis retail licensing expansion in local jurisdictions that continue to ban legal cannabis sales

Considering they want the screws tightened on hemp.. I’d like to ask what they mean by what they say below. Yes many of the existing rules are onerous but exactly what do they mean by simplify, reduce and efficiency and will these changes benefit the big operators more so than the small local ones.

They say..

Work with the DCC to simplify licensing processes, reduce compliance costs, and create efficiency in permit renewals.

I was meant to be speaking to them on the Karma Koala Podcast about all of this but I ‘ve been told that this has now been pushed back to some unspecified time, so I suppose I shall just have to wait and see what it all means.

Here’s their 2025

2025 Legislative & Regulatory Work Program

Introduction

The California Cannabis Operators Association’s 2025 Legislative and Regulatory Work Program reflects our commitment to advancing the interests of cannabis retailers and ensuring a sustainable, equitable, and profitable legal marketplace to the benefit of the broader cannabis industry. Representing over 200 storefronts across more than 90 municipalities, serving 20 million residents, and employing thousands of workers—including union employees —CaCOA is the largest cannabis trade association in California based on tax contributions.

Retailers are the backbone of California’s legal cannabis industry, bridging the supply chain of licensed growers, manufacturers, and distributors with consumers. A thriving retail sector is vital to the broader industry’s success, yet the current regulatory landscape places retailers at a severe disadvantage due to excessive taxation, overregulation, and an uneven playing field against illicit operators and unregulated intoxicating hemp products.

Our mission is clear: to reform California’s cannabis policies so that legal cannabis businesses can thrive, and consumers have safe, regulated access to cannabis products.

This program outlines CaCOA’s top priorities for 2025, focusing on tax fairness, enforcement parity, regulatory efficiency, and sustainable economic policies for licensed cannabis operators.

 

Section 1: Legislative Priorities

1. Ensure a Fair and Sustainable Cannabis Tax Framework

• Prevent the scheduled increase in the cannabis excise tax to 19% on July 1, 2025, under AB 195 (Budget Committee, 2022).
• Advocate for a lower, sustainable cannabis tax structure that prevents consumers from turning to the illicit market.
• Support legislative measures that reinvest cannabis tax revenue into industry-supporting initiatives, including enforcement against unlicensed storefronts and delivery services selling illicit cannabis and intoxicating hemp products, loan programs for small businesses, equity operators, and workforce development.
• Support legislative measures that prohibit double taxation of cannabis excise tax on local taxes.

 

2. Strengthen Regulatory Oversight of Intoxicating Hemp

• Enforce existing laws against unregulated intoxicating hemp products and prevent their sale outside of California’s legal cannabis marketplace.
• Support legislation to ensure hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids fall under the DCC’s oversight, maintaining parity with cannabis regulations.
• Advocate for a comprehensive labeling and testing regime for hemp-derived cannabinoids to match state cannabis testing standards.
• Protect consumer safety and market integrity by closing regulatory loopholes that allow intoxicating hemp products to evade taxation and quality controls.
• Ensure tax parity between cannabis and intoxicating hemp products to prevent economic disadvantages for legal cannabis operators.

 

3. Expand Consumer Access and Retail Market Growth to Improve Market Health

• Advocate for statewide cannabis retail licensing expansion in local jurisdictions that continue to ban legal cannabis sales.
• Support legislation that allows debt restructuring and repayment programs for cannabis businesses struggling with tax liabilities to create solutions for the industry’s growing debt crisis.
• Support commonsense legislation ensuring retailers and brands remain aligned through the growing debt crisis.

 

4. Strengthen Retailer Representation in State Policy Decisions

• Advocate for greater retailer representation on the Cannabis Advisory Committee (CAC) to ensure policy decisions include the perspectives of those operating at the consumer level.
• Oppose efforts that unfairly target retail operators with additional regulations that are not applied to other sectors of the cannabis industry.

              

Section 2: Regulatory Priorities

1. Commonsense Reforms to Streamline Retail and Compliance Regulations

• Work with the DCC to simplify licensing processes, reduce compliance costs, and create efficiency in permit renewals.
• Clarify calculation of concentrated cannabis in infused products to align with present industry practices.
• Ensure testing regulations address public health and safety and are capable of being implemented in the supply chain.
• Streamline temporary event regulations to support all licensees.

             

2. Address Industry Debt and Improve Financial Stability

• Develop policies that allow debt restructuring and repayment programs for cannabis businesses struggling with tax liabilities.
• Work with regulators and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to create solutions for the industry’s growing debt crisis.

               

3. Expand Consumer and Public Safety Education

• Support initiatives that educate the public on the risks of illicit and untested hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids.

           

4. Promote Equitable Retail Opportunities

• Strengthen social equity programs by ensuring equitable access to funding, resources, and technical support for equity applicants.

 

Section 3: CaCOA’s Guiding Principles

1. Advocating for Sensible Taxation: The current tax framework is unsustainable—CaCOA supports fair, reasonable tax policies that ensure legal businesses can compete with the illicit market.
2. Enforcing Parity and Compliance: The state must enforce its own laws against illicit cannabis operators and intoxicating hemp manufacturers before imposing additional burdens on licensed businesses.
3. Fostering a Thriving Retail Sector: A successful cannabis retail industry is key to a functional, equitable, and profitable supply chain—protecting and strengthening retailers benefits the entire industry.
4. Expanding Safe Consumer Access: Every Californian should have access to safe, tested, and legally regulated cannabis products.
5. Protecting Small and Equity Businesses: Equity operators and small businesses deserve the same level of investment, access to capital, and regulatory protections as larger operators.

 

CaCOA is committed to reshaping the state’s cannabis laws with a direct emphasis on retail viability, tax fairness, regulatory efficiency, and enforcement parity. Our advocacy is tailored to ensure that retailers—the bridge between the supply chain and consumers—are heard, respected, and supported in California’s evolving legal cannabis market.

By working collaboratively with policymakers, regulators, and industry stakeholders, CaCOA will champion the changes needed to create a stronger, fairer, and more sustainable legal cannabis industry for all licensed operators.

https://www.cacoa.org/advocacy