Fiona Ma Calls California's Legal Cannabis Market 'a Complete Disaster,' Proposes Legislative Path to Amend Prop 64
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma told the IgniteIt cannabis conference in Los Angeles on October 7 that the state's legal marijuana market is "a complete disaster." "California was the number one cannabis-producing state in terms of quality and being trusted by the farmers, similar to our wine industry," she said. "And now it's pretty much — it's almost dead. The legal business is dead."
Ma said taxes are "definitely too high" for licensed businesses to compete with unlicensed operators, a major part of the problem as she described it. She proposed amending Proposition 64, the 2016 voter-approved measure that legalized recreational marijuana in California, not through an expensive signature-gathering campaign but through the Legislature: pass a bill with two-thirds support, have the governor sign it, and then send it to voters. "That's the cheapest way, but I do need cooperation," she said, adding that she wants to immediately begin convening a stakeholder working group to identify specific problems and solutions. "I can start convening right now."
Earlier this year, Ma held a hearing on cannabis banking issues and called California's marijuana legalization law a "complete failure," saying it should be replaced with a new ballot initiative prioritizing consumers and small businesses. Steve Hilton, the Republican nominee for governor, who also appeared at the IgniteIt event, has likewise said the state's cannabis law needs an overhaul; visiting a Sacramento dispensary this week, he was told its products face an effective tax rate of 38 percent, which he called "RIDICULOUS" in a social media post.
Ma has served as California's treasurer since 2019 and is the first woman of color and the first woman certified public accountant elected to the office. She is the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor and will face Republican Gloria Romero, a former state Senate majority leader, in the November 3 general election. (GSM, based on Marijuana Moment reporting)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：加州财务长马世云2026年官方肖像。图片来源：加州财务长办公室／Wikimedia Commons（公共领域）。Photo: California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, 2026 official portrait. Source: California State Treasurer's Office / Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
