In cannabis culture, 420 — April 20 — is a day to celebrate.
But for many in California’s legal cannabis industry, there’s little cause for revelry most days, according to experts who say high taxes, burdensome regulations and illegal sales are crushing entrepreneurs’ dreams.
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“I get calls every week from mom-and-pop operators that were excited about legal cannabis, that invested their life savings into doing something they were passionate about and doing it legally,” said Jason Piazza, director of real estate for WeCann, a Santa Ana cannabis business consulting firm.
Slang for cannabis smoking, especially at 4:20 p.m., 420’s origin is the subject of several theories. It’s a day when cannabis users gather and smoke the drug, often in public places.