(UPDATED JANUARY 20TH, 2018) We’re extremely excited to announce that as of Saturday January 20th, 2018 The Higher Path is officially open for Adult Use Recreational sales! Anyone 21 & older can now visit The Higher Path with a valid photo ID. For more information on what to bring with you when you come to see us & what taxes you can expect to pay click here!
(UPDATED JANUARY 15TH, 2018) Ever since Prop 64 passed in California legalizing adult recreational cannabis use, we’ve all been anxiously awaiting January 2018 for dispensaries to begin recreational sales. When will The Higher Path officially open its doors to recreational consumers? Unfortunately not on January 2nd, 2018.
Like everyone else in the cannabis industry, we are at the mercy of the city we operate in–meaning that we must wait until Los Angeles issues us our temporary license before we can begin recreational sales. The good news is that The Higher Path will be among the first group of recreational licenses processed thanks to our pre-ICO and Prop D compliant status; however, we definitely won’t have our license come January 2nd. Until we receive our temporary recreational license from the city of Los Angeles, we will continue to serve medical cannabis patients with their valid MMJ recommendation & California ID.
We don’t have a definitive date for when our temporary license will be issued, but we submitted our application on January 3rd when the city began accepting applications & as of today (January 15th) we are still waiting to receive our license–please continue to check back here for updates on our recreational status!
In regards to taxes, here’s what’s happening at The Higher Path:
(1) Prior to receiving our temporary license, you will see a 9.5% Sales Tax & 10% Local Tax added on to the prices you see listed on our menus & labels. You will clearly be able to see these taxes reflected on your receipt–if you’re not sure where to look, simply ask your budtender to show you! (Please note that this differs from the tax-included prices that you’ve been used to at The Higher Path. Item prices are still the same, but the tax is just getting added separately so that you can clearly see how much you’re paying in taxes & which taxes they are!)
(2) Once we are licensed and begin accepting products from licensed vendors and distributors, taxes will change again to include ALL of the taxes placed on Adult Use Cannabis in the state of California per Prop 64. (When our wholesale prices are increased by licensed distributors, you will likely see an increase in product price.)
These taxes include:
Taxes you’ll see on your receipt:
*10% Local Tax–this tax may vary based on the city a dispensary is operating in, but in Los Angeles it’s 10%
*9.5% Sales Tax–like the Local Tax, Sales Tax may vary based on the city the dispensary is operating in, but here in Los Angeles it will be 9.5%
Taxes you WON’T see on your receipt, but that will affect product prices:
*15% State Excise Tax–this tax is universal throughout the state of California, so no matter where a dispensary is located they’ll be required to pay this tax
*15% Cultivation Tax–essentially a tax on the raw goods used to make cannabis products like edibles & cartridges
*15% Distributor Tax–this tax is collected by the distributor, but it still affects the prices of products on the shelf
*In addition to these taxes, fees for secure transportation of cannabis products & lab testing will likely be reflected in the prices you see at legal dispensaries.
(3) What are the tax differences for medical patients? Allow us to break it down for you!
*Adult Use Taxes: Individuals purchasing cannabis recreationally will be charged a 10% Local Tax and 9.5% Sales Tax.
*Medical Patients with a Doctors Recommendation: Individuals who have a MMJ recommendation from a doctor (like the one you currently use when you come to The Higher Path) will be charged a 5% Local Tax and 9.5% Sales Tax. (Total savings of 5% on Local Taxes)
*Medical Patients with a County Medical Marijuana Identification Card: Individuals who obtain a MMIC from the county will be charged a 5% Local Tax. (Total savings of 14.5%–5% on Local Taxes & 9.5% on Sales Tax)
(4) Here’s an example of how you can expect the total cost of your order to change with taxes being added:
Under Prop 215, a 180mg Kiva Bar at The Higher Path costs $20. Once we are open for Adult Use that same Kiva Bar will now only be able to contain 100mg of THC broken up into ten 10mg pieces for easy dosing. Factoring in all of the taxes we mentioned above, that 100mg Kiva Bar will end up costing around $32 to an Adult Use Recreational Consumer (as we stated above, if you’ve got a medical recommendation or county ID card you’ll save anywhere from 5%-14.5%).
We know that this is a lot to take in and that there are a lot of changes happening, but rest assured that The Higher Path will always be transparent with you about what changes you can expect and why they are occurring.
If you have questions, feel free to leave us a comment below or email info@thehigherpath.com!
