Exclusive: State Regulator Admits Most Californians Still Lack Access to Legal Cannabis

“In many jurisdictions, there is no retail access, there is no access to licensed cannabis.”

At IgniteIt’s Market Spotlight: California, the California Department of Cannabis Control’s Deputy Director of Government Affairs, Christina Dempsey, had a “fireside chat” discussion with High Times partner Matt Stang to discuss the state’s regulatory climate.

California Governor Signs Cannabis Bills

Stang started the conversation with Dempsey by asking about cannabis-related bills considered by the California legislature this year. She noted that Governor Gavin Newsom had recently signed a hemp enforcement bill (AB 8), a measure to address the advertising and sale of illicit cannabis online (SB 378), and AB 564, which paused a mandated cannabis tax increase.

Dempsey noted that cannabis taxes were discussed in a new light in 2025. When the California legislature last considered cannabis tax reform in 2022, the primary focus of many conversations was preserving funding for programs that benefited from the tax revenue, while minimizing public impact and ensuring a successful rollout of cannabis legalization.

During conversations about AB 564, however, lawmakers were more interested in the tax burden that cannabis operators face and how it threatens their viability, with a common sentiment being “You can’t get blood out of a stone.”

“And the whole conversation was different this year,” she explained. “It was about, ‘how do we do the right thing and get us back to a baseline where we can continue to have these conversations?’”

California’s Legal Cannabis Market Challenged by Lack of Retail Access

The fireside chat then turned to challenges facing California’s legal cannabis market and its operators. Dempsey cited a lack of retail access as a significant issue, noting that less than half of the state’s cannabis consumers are buying regulated products.

“Of all of the consumers in California who use cannabis, only 40% of them are getting it from licensed sources,” she said. “And if you dig into why, it is because, in many jurisdictions, there is no retail access, there is no access to licensed cannabis.”

The local control provisions of Prop 64, the 2016 ballot initiative that legalized recreational weed in California, mean that cities and counties can prohibit cannabis businesses from locating in their jurisdictions. More than half of local governments (56%) have exercised that power, leaving 16 million Californians without easy access to regulated cannabis. In these areas, tight enforcement means patients and consumers have even fewer options.

“It’s really tough to address the issues of enforcement against the unlicensed market, to bring more consumers into the licensed market, when you have so many areas of the state where you still can’t access legal cannabis,” Dempsey explained.

Does California Grow Too Much Weed?

Another issue related to the unregulated market is the problem of overproduction of cannabis in California. The DCC estimates that 13 million pounds of cannabis are grown in the Golden State annually. The illicit market accounts for about 11.4 million pounds of that production, the vast majority of which is exported out of state.

California’s cannabis community consumes about 3.8 million pounds of weed, with only 1.4 million pounds of that grown by the regulated market. The difference represents an opportunity for licensed operators to expand their customer base. Reaching those consumers, however, will require increased access to licensed retailers.

“So there is room, as we educate consumers, for additional production that satisfies that demand,” Dempsey said. “But you can’t really address that issue until you open up local access, and you bridge some of those gaps there, too.”

Stang and Dempsey ended the conversation by touching on the regulation of cannabis events and the prospect of federal policy reform. Amid rumors of an impending change, Dempsey noted that reform during the current administration isn’t a sure thing. To keep the ball rolling, she encouraged California’s cannabis business community to engage with the state’s federal lawmakers.

“I think there is a lot of opportunity on the congressional side for businesses to reach out to their representatives and educate them about how their business works and how some of these things would affect them,” Dempsey said, “so that they can make a decision that supports Californians.”