Santa Barbara County Projects $6 Million Cannabis Revenue Shortfall for 2021-22
Glut of Marijuana on the Market Is to Blame, Says County Executive Officer
Because of a glut of marijuana on the market, the county’s tax revenue from cannabis cultivation is projected to be only $12.4 million this fiscal year, or $6 million less than the $18.4 million that was forecast last June when the county budget was adopted, the County Executive Officer said this week.
During the 2020-21 fiscal year ending last June, the county collected $15.7 million in taxes from cannabis cultivation. The projected decrease for 2021-22 “is attributable to the oversupply of wholesale cannabis product and resulting price compression that continues to persist locally and statewide, much as it did early on in other states that legalized adult-use cannabis prior to California, such as Colorado and Oregon,” according to the quarterly budget status report that was presented by the office of CEO Mona Miyasato to the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
The CEO’s budget projection was based on cannabis tax receipts for October, November, and December 2021, the second quarter of the current fiscal year. (This fiscal year runs from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.) The quarterly report was on the board’s administrative agenda and was not subject to a public hearing, signaling a change from recent years, in which the supervisors held quarterly public hearings on the status of cannabis revenues, permits, and licensing.
