Modern cultivation techniques and spiritual practices collide with Pink Boost Goddess on our next Legendary Strains episode.

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Humboldt Seed Co. gathered an elite crew of experts to find the next big cultivars. See the winning pheno hunt strains here.

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Find out why vintage cultivars like Chemdawg thrive in living soil as Lindsay MaHarry takes us to Down Om Farms.

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“We shouldn’t be harassing people who are trying to do the right thing and paying their taxes.”

At IgniteIt’s Market Spotlight: California, Treasurer Fiona Ma told a packed room what many licensees have been saying for years — then laid out where the fixes need to happen.

Why the treasurer matters here

A treasurer is basically the state’s banker. All revenues flow through Ma’s office; roughly $3 trillion a year by her tally. She invests a portfolio in the $150 to $250 billion range, balances it daily to six decimals, and issues California’s bonds for infrastructure and the UC and CSU systems. When finance policy closes doors, she sees it first. When a legal industry cannot access programs or capital, she sees the gap. As she reminded the crowd, the governor is not her boss. Voters are.

During COVID, California pushed out about $28 billion in state grants. “Not one penny could go to cannabis because it’s still Schedule I [substance].” That single constraint still shapes how the industry banks, borrows, and plans.

What she told operators, straight up

Enforcement is upside down. Ma described agencies targeting licensees they can find (because they can find them) while obvious illicit activity lingers for months. She called for coordination and a focus on actors who refuse to play by the rules. She added that during COVID, many state workers were not on site, and even now average about two days a week, which weakened enforcement.

Also read: Every Two Minutes, Someone in America Is Arrested for Marijuana

Tracking is clunky and duplicative. Operators maintain internal systems, then layer METRC on top. The result is redundancy, cost, and confusion.

Leakage is real, tax capture is not. California still produces at scale. Newer markets are thriving without matching in-state production. The product is coming from somewhere, and too much of it bypasses legal channels and taxes. On how Prop 64 has played out, Ma was blunt: “Ten years later, it is a failure.”

Reliable state programs are thin. Asked what cannabis can actually count on at the state level, her first answer was stark: “Nothing. … Not much.” She noted that only one state loan program is currently accessible to cannabis businesses. An audience member flagged OCAL under CDFA as a bright spot, and Ma welcomed highlighting anything that works.

Banking remains a choke point. Ma backed financial institutions that chose to serve cannabis and said many charge high due diligence fees. Support helps, but cost and coverage remain uneven.

Budget context is real. California faces a structural deficit of about $20 billion a year. Ma’s argument is fiscal as much as philosophical: fix the legal market, grow the taxable pie, stop pretending the illicit delta is invisible.

The federal piece

On the path forward, Ma did not mince words: “It should be descheduled completely.” Her concern is practical. Push cannabis toward a pharmacy counter with ID checks and prescription-style rules and access gets clunky while the illicit market keeps its edge. True descheduling would unlock normal banking, modernize compliance, and let regulators focus on safety and bad actors rather than paperwork hunts.

A regulator who speaks like a human

Ma’s relationship to the plant is not theoretical. She mentioned using gummies to manage sleep through a tough stretch. It landed because it was simple, relatable, and said without posture.

Politics in the room

On stage, Ma was introduced with an enthusiastic nod toward a run for lieutenant governor. She urged the industry to talk to every candidate in the next governor’s race and find out who actually understands the issues. The response from operators and investors was loud.

What to do now if you are plant-touching

1. Make your books bulletproof. Treat audits, KYC, and traceability as daily hygiene. If you run parallel tracking, make sure the data matches every time.
2. Push for rational enforcement. Support efforts that prioritize illicit-market reduction over low-hanging paperwork targets.
3. Engage early. These races will shape enforcement priorities, banking access, and tax design. Know who gets it.

About the event, and what’s next

These remarks were delivered at IgniteIt Presents: Market Spotlight, California. The series moves to the Midwest next.

• IgniteIt Presents — Market Spotlight: OHIO
• November 3, 2025

If California is the stress test, Ohio is the next checkpoint. The questions Ma raised in California are the same ones Ohio will have to answer. Operators who prepare now will be the ones left standing when the noise settles.

Photo: Shutterstock

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Catalyst is excited to announce the grand opening of their brand-new San Diego location. This new dispensary will be located on Convoy Street, just off the 52 Freeway.

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Everyone wants to know—’Where’s the best 420 events near me?’ April is already upon us, and with it the biggest day of the year for those of us who love weed. As you well know, 420 is history, culture, industry, lore, and always a whole lotta fun. To get you in the spirit, we have […]

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Including Lemon Cherry Gelato, Triangle Kush, and Hash Burger.

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Live resin and live rosin carts and pods across the US.

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Bye-bye, Dry January. Millions of weed smokers say adios to winter’s worst with a breathtaking selection of lucky green across the USA and Canada this St. Patrick’s Day. Legalization in over 20 states offers ever more affordable alternatives to booze. The California outdoor is perfectly cured. Your favorite musician has a new strain.  Maryland has […]

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Los Angeles’ top contest picks some bangers

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