According to data from the cannabis research firm Whitney Economics, the cannabis industry paid an excess of $1.8 billion in additional taxes in 2022 alone. And, spoiler alert: This article doesn’t have a happy ending. Cision PR Newsletter reports that this number is expected to jump to $2.1 billion in 2023. 

As High Times continuously writes, with deep frustration, so far, the legal cannabis industry has largely not succeeded in creating an accessible business model. California, among other states, is seeing a mass exodus as legal cannabis companies, such as Jerry Garcia’s legacy brand, leave the state due to exorbitantly high taxes and red tape. Despite ongoing efforts to help communities most impacted by the War on Drugs enter the legal market, if celebrity brands can’t make a profit, how is one starting life after the financial and mental turmoil of going to prison for a non-violent cannabis offense supposed to make a decent living? 

So why are the taxes so damn high for cannabis businesses? Don’t forget that your pretty pre-rolls and vegan edibles are technically still a Schedule I substance, meaning that, according to the Feds, cannabis has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” This is scientifically inaccurate and regressive, not to mention hypocritical, as 38 states and Washington D.C. currently have medical marijuana programs. The taxes inflicted on folks in the legal market indicate that legalization is not the utopia we hoped for and may help the black market, which continues to flourish. Overtaxing legal cannabis companies is not only harmful to business owners, but it raises prices and thus isolates potential clients. 

Cannabis companies are subject to the federal tax provision 280E, which “penalizes traffickers of Schedule I or II drugs by disallowing the deduction of “ordinary and necessary” business expenses—such as below-the-line deductions—after reducing gross receipts by the cost of goods sold, or COGS, essentially resulting in federal income tax liability calculated based on gross income, not net income,” according to Bloomberg Tax. 

If you pour the stress of 280E on top of other cannabis business hurdles, such as difficulty accessing banking services and regulations against any interstate commerce, the result is that for many companies, it’s impossible to make a profit in the legal cannabis biz. The effective tax rates are often higher than 70% for cannabis retailers.

As Cision PR Newsletter reports, as a result, 24.4% of cannabis operators surveyed indicated that they are profitable. And things are becoming more dire last year; the figure was 42%. And, while it’s tempting to blame a post-pandemic economy, other industries are actually flourishing. According to Bloomberg, in 2022, U.S. corporate profits saw the largest margins since the 1950s. 

As warned earlier in this article, don’t expect the legal market to have a breakthrough and get better anytime soon. Whitney Economics is releasing a survey later this month stating that cannabis businesses are hanging on by the skin of their teeth and should not expect a positive shift in the immediate future. 

“The cannabis industry is under extreme economic distress, and the current regulatory and taxation environment is untenable, even in the short term,” says Beau Whitney, chief economist at Whitney Economics, according to a press release. He adds that many state markets are on “the brink of systemic collapse.” The report suggests that tax reform is the only answer to the problem. Under the right tax laws, the cannabis industry could be bringing in billions—and not just for the government to collect in taxes. Whitney Economics predicts that with the proper reform of 280E and cannabis policy, industry employment will increase, and economic activity will rise by $35.2 billion over ten years.

Reuters reports that three Senate Democrats introduced a bill to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act in July of 2022, thus nullifying Code Sec. 280E. The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act would impose a top excise tax of 25% on products sold by large cannabis businesses. At time of reporting, it is still pending. 

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There’s a mass cannabis exodus out of California, and, no, that’s not a reference to the Bob Marley song, although you should snag Marley Natural while they’re still in the golden state, Cali friends. However, another stoner icon legacy brand, that of San Francisco-born Jerry Garcia, the late co-founder and lead vocalist for The Grateful Dead, Garcia Hand Picked cannabis line, is saying goodbye to the Golden State, SFGate reports. Cue up “Fire on the Mountain,” although climate change isn’t California’s only problem. 

While for decades, cannabis growers, entrepreneurs, and aficionados found a green paradise tucked away in the libertarian Emerald Triangle (a region in Northern California, including Humboldt County, named for being the largest cannabis-producing region in the United States) or the liberal counterculture of the cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, when California finally legalized, well, the Fed’s red tape and impossibly high barriers to entry left even the most recognized names in cannabis unable to turn a legal profit in the state. 

“We’re taking a pause in California. We want to ensure CA consumers have the highest quality flower for the long term, so we are in the process of choosing a new local partner for cultivation, production, sales, and distribution of Garcia Hand Picked in CA,” a spokesperson from Holistic Industries, the brand’s parent company, wrote in an email to SFGate.

Previously, Garcia Hand Picked sourced its cannabis from legacy farmers in the Emerald Triangle, growers perhaps Garcia even once enjoyed, although now the brand is looking for a new supplier. Working with legacy farmers earned the brand valuable street cred (celebrity cannabis brands can have a rap for being corny, and many consumers prefer their weed without a famous face attached), but it wasn’t enough. Despite California’s reputation as the U.S.’s cornerstone for cannabis, to say it’s a tough market is an understatement. Trying to sell cannabis in California is an almost impossibly expensive operation due to complicated regulations, high taxes, and the plethora of troubles that come with banking. Due to Federal laws, cannabis companies do not have the same access to loans. And according to the Marijuana Revenue and Regulation Act, weed businesses pay an effective federal tax rate as high as 80%. 

Recently, other celebrity cannabis brands faced similar woes. According to Celeb Stoner, in January, Jay-Z’s Monogram brand began restructuring by The Parent Company, and Canada’s Cronos Group made the call to kill Kristen Bell’s Happy Dance CBD skincare line to “reduce U.S. operating expenses.” According to Bloomberg, few celebrity cannabis brands have managed to turn a profit. In addition to the giant financial hurdles, as long as cannabis remains a Schedule I substance under Federal Law, there are vast marketing hurdles. For instance, radio advertising is illegal, even in states where cannabis is not. And, if celebrity cannabis brands that come pre-approved by a household name and cash behind them are failing, think of the barriers to entry smaller companies face, especially those owned by POC and anyone else affected by the War on Drugs.  

While they pull out of California, Garcia Hand Picked is still available in five other states. However, the next time you smoke up in Cali while the Grateful Dead plays in the background, if you’re like many others, you’ll opt for the black market, just like Jerry himself smoked. Because as California’s mass cannabis extinction event demonstrates, sadly, state legalization is not the pipe dream (pun intended) so many of us hoped for. 

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Garcia Hand Picked, the cannabis brand founded by the family of legendary Grateful Dead lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, entered its fifth legal cannabis state today with an expansion into Colorado’s competitive recreational weed market. A collaboration between multistate operator Holistic Industries and Colorado craft cultivator Veritas Fine Cannabis, the Garcia Hand Picked line of cannabis products and merchandise was created in partnership with the family of the late Jerry Garcia.

“It’s an honor to finally have a presence in Colorado, one of our nation’s most discerning cannabis markets,” Trixie Garcia, one of Jerry’s daughters and spokesperson for the Garcia family, said in a statement. “Garcia Hand Picked works with an exclusive network [of] local growers in each market we’re in that have become part of the Garcia Hand Picked family, and we’re excited to bring only the highest quality, curated cannabis to our fans and friends in Colorado.”

Garcia Hand Picked debuted in California in 2020 and is now available in more than 300 dispensaries in California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts and Oregon, with plans to expand to Michigan soon. According to market analyst BDSA, the collaboration is the leading celebrity cannabis brand in the United States. The strains available for the Colorado launch, which are named after songs written by Jerry Garcia and are selected to be perfect for any time of day, include Morning in Marin (Sativa), Love in the Afternoon (Hybrid) and After Midnight (Indica), among others.

In California, Garcia Hand Picked recently launched a program called Hand Picked Farms to support independent and legacy farmers, offering flower that is “Sun and Earth Certified,” meaning that it is sungrown in the ground without chemicals by farmers who are paid fairly for their work. Consumers can look for the “Sun and Earth Certified” Hand Picked Farms sticker on packs of Garcia Hand Picked flower sold in California dispensaries.

The Garcia Hand Picked line also includes a curated selection of premium indoor cannabis flower in collectible and re-usable glass jars. Each product is paired with a specially selected playlist of Jerry Garcia’s music that corresponds with the strains to create a unique brand experience. Fans can go to the “Music Never Stopped” section of GarciaHandPicked.com to listen to the musical selections.

Holistic Industries notes in a statement from the company that Jerry Garcia rarely smoked weed by himself, instead preferring a shared joint, which “became a bridge between him and those around him.” To honor that spirit, the Hand Picked Garcia line has emphasized pre-rolled joints featuring a custom glass tip with Jerry’s handprint, offered in eco-friendly packaging made from recycled paper. Other products in the collection include Jerry’s Picks, cannabis gummies shaped like Jerry’s actual guitar picks, which will be coming to the Colorado market soon. Merchandise, including apparel and accessories with original artwork by Jerry Garcia, the Garcia Hand Picked logo, and other designs will be available.

Jerry Garcia: Groundbreaking Artist and Weed Icon

Jerry Garcia was the co-founder, lead guitarist, vocalist, and lead songwriter for the counterculture rock band the Grateful Dead, which rose from the 1960s San Francisco Bay Area scene of drugs, music, and social change. A groundbreaking artist with a career that spanned more than 30 years, Garcia was inducted with the Grateful Dead into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, just a year before he died of a heart attack at a California drug rehab facility.

To celebrate the upcoming 80th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s birth on August 1, the Colorado launch of Hand Picked Garcia will feature Bertha, a custom Airstream trailer that tours the country filled with music and merchandise, at The Jerry Garcia Symphonic Experience at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado on June 29. Bertha will then tour select dispensaries across the state through the Fourth of July holiday weekend to mark the launch of Hand Picked Garcia to the Colorado market.

“Playing music in Colorado was always a high point for Jerry, he dug the closeness of the audience and the energy that flowed more freely in the mountain air,” said Jerry’s daughter Annabelle Garcia, a spokesperson for the Garcia family. “The hidden stories in the rocks were a source of cosmic speculation and inspiration on the long drives to and from the shows. For Jerry, every ridge held a secret treasure, or an alien spacecraft, or a Bigfoot listening to the shows.”

“Red Rocks is the perfect venue to celebrate our Father’s 80th birthday! Where the sky and mountains meet, we will make a joyful noise and spread some good lovin’,” added Trixie Garcia. “The symphonic interpretation of these cherished tunes elevates them to an otherworldly place, and when ‘Terrapin Station’ erupts, and the big instruments start to resonate, it’s going to be very powerful!”

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Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese plans to create a musical biopic about the Grateful Dead, and Jonah Hill has been cast as frontman Jerry Garcia.

Deadline first broke the news that the epic biopic will become a reality. Hill posted the story on Instagram, with a hands up emoji and a skull emoji, representing the band name. 

There will be high expectations. Hill worked together with Scorsese in 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street, as the brilliant-but-eccentric, real-life investor, Donnie Azoff, who went on drug-fueled party sprees with Jordan Belfort. It was that role that provided Hill his second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Scorsese directed the Grateful Dead six-part docuseries, Long Strange Trip, released in 2017, which was named after Garcia’s quote, “What a long strange trip it’s been.” 

​​“The Grateful Dead were more than just a band,” Scorsese said in a statement at the time of the docu-series’ announcement. “They were their own planet, populated by millions of devoted fans. I’m very happy that this picture is being made and proud to be involved.”

The film will be completed at Apple, the same place that Scorsese is working on his next film, Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Jesse Plemons. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who worked on American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson, will work on the project as writers.

The Grateful Dead formed in the Bay Area in California in 1965 as a staple of the counterculture movement. Long story short, the jam band became synonymous with the psychedelic counterculture movement. Garcia passed away in 1995. The band appears to support the musical biopic.

Weir, Kreutzmann, Lesh and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead have been named as executive producers. Trixie Garcia, the daughter of Jerry Garcia, as the band’s manager Bernie Cahill will also serve as executive producers, including Eric Eisner.

No release or production date for the movie has been announced at this time.

Garcia Hand Picked

Last year, the Garcia family—led by Trixie Garcie—launched Garcia Hand Picked, their own line of cannabis products and merchandise. Garcia Hand Picked. The line includes eighth-ounce jars or five-joint packs of pre-rolls in Indica, Sativa and Hybrid. Guitar pick-shaped gummies infused with 5mg of THC per gummy, in 20-gummy tins, are a popular choice.

After “an extensive search for the right partner to create this cannabis brand,” Trixie said in 2019, the family ended up settling with Holistic Industries to collaborate on the project. “Their values are rooted in a family business and they have a track record operating and creating cannabis brands across the country. We can’t wait to share the Jerry Garcia cannabis collection with the fans next year.”

Trixie told Rolling Stone that Jerry smoked weed when he was surrounded by other people as a social tool. 

Rock journalist Al Aronowitz interviewed Jerry Garcia in 1972—but the interview wasn’t published until January 2001 in High Times. Jerry described the atmosphere in San Francisco. “There was a lot of fighting, race riots, all that high-school shit that was so heavy in the ’50s,” Jerry Garcia said. “Gangs go out cruising on a Friday night with other hoodlums, drinking wine and having fights. The tops of the hills in the city weren’t built on yet. It was still like going to the country. Trees, ponds, grass, animals. We went up one day and smoked a couple of joints. After that I really got into it. I wasn’t into changing my mood, I was into getting stoned!”

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