Annual Report on Tax Exemptions for
Medicinal Cannabis

Statutory Data Reporting Requirement. Chapter 920 of 2024 (AB 2555, Quirk-Silva) renewed an existing tax exemption for certain donations of medical cannabis products. The law directs our office to submit an annual report containing data on three outcomes related to the exemptions: the number of medicinal cannabis patients served, the amount of medicinal cannabis products donated, and the amount of tax revenue lost. This report fulfills that statutory requirement for 2025.

Data Source. Our office obtained the data described below from the Department of Cannabis Control and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). The data come from the state’s Metrc “track and trace” system for licensed cannabis. In particular, the data reflect transactions that businesses identified as medicinal donations in calendar year 2025.

Number of Patients Served. In 2025, licensees identified 19,877 transactions as medicinal donations. The data do not tell us who received each donation. Some patients likely received more than one donation in 2025, so this total likely overstates the number of distinct patients. For example, if a patient received six donations in 2025, then the transaction total includes that person six times.

Amounts of Products Donated. As shown in Figure 1, licensees donated a wide variety of products in 2025.

Use Tax Revenue Lost. CDTFA estimates that the 2025 revenue loss from the AB 2555 tax exemption was roughly $68,000. Revenue from the use tax goes to the state’s General Fund and to local programs.