Cannabis sales in San Francisco have failed to hit the $50 million mark for the quarter for the first time in five years, California tax officials said.
The city recorded $46.7 million in taxable cannabis sales in the first three months of 2024. The figure represents a $5.6 million decrease from the last quarter and a $7.1 million decrease from the same period in 2023, the San Francisco Examiner reported.
Customers maintain social distance while waiting to enter The Green Cross cannabis dispensary in San Francisco, Wednesday, March 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
The latest figures from the California Department of Tax and Free Administration show a 35% decline since its peak in mid-2021. Despite the sluggish sales, San Francisco users remain among the leaders in per-capita cannabis sales, bringing in $55 in sales per resident. San Diego made $134.1 million in sales for the first quarter, with $40.73 in sales per resident. Los Angeles came in at $295.3 million in sales with $30.05 per resident.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has often touted California as being the largest legal cannabis market in the world and has bragged about San Francisco’s Amsterdam-style cafes, but more and more dispensary owners say they are being driven out of