Off The Charts marijuana dispensary in McFarland is one of the few legal shops in Kern County. Under a new bill that keeps the tax at 15%, the business could see more stability and more revenue flowing back into the community.

In July 2025, California’s cannabis excise tax jumped from 15% to 19%.

But last month, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill rolling it back to 15% through June 2028, pausing a proposed hike to 25%.

“The tax definitely hurt our business when that happened in July you know what I mean,” said manager of Off the Charts Carlos Pizarro. “We saw numbers kind of like rising and then the tax increased and numbers started to decline.”

On Friday afternoon, sales were on the rise at Off the Charts Dispensary.

Recreational marijuana dispensaries are one of the highest taxed b

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