Is Fresno high among California counties where people spend the most on legal weed?
Reality Check is a Fresno Bee series holding those in power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a tip? Email tips@fresnobee.com.
California voters legalized recreational adult use of cannabis in November 2016, and the first legal retailer of weed in Fresno County opened its doors in the western outpost of Coalinga in the fall of 2018. Four other cannabis dispensaries opened their doors across the county before any were opened in the city of Fresno.
But Fresno and Fresno County residents have exhibited a much lower appetite for legal weed than most other California counties, with lagging sales of cannabis products: marijuana flower, pre-rolled joints, vapes, edibles such as cookies or gummies, and others.
From 2018 through 2023, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration reported that taxable sales of legal cannabis in Fresno County amounted to $138.1 million, including about $77.8 million last year.
Compared to the rest of the state, 2023’s sales came out to only about $77 per person in Fresno County. That’s far less than the calculated per-person spending of all but three other California counties with full-year sales data for state-licensed dispensaries. Of 58 counties in the state, 49 have at least one retail license holder, according to the state’s Department of Cannabis Control.
In contrast, sparsely populated Mono County, along the California-Nevada state line on the east side of the Sierra Nevada range, comes in atop the list at almost $362 for each of the county’s 13,273 residents.
Fresno County’s first cannabis dispensary opened in Coalinga as Have a Heart in November 2018. It was acquired in June 2020 by High Times. An industry news website, CRB Monitor, reported recently that High Times abruptly closed the Coalinga store in March, along with locations in Blythe and San Bernardino, amid apparent financial turmoil. High Times surrendered its state license earlier this month.
That leaves one dispensary operating in Coalinga, as well as one each in Firebaugh, Mendota and Parlier in addition to a growing number of Fresno dispensaries.
Despite the High Times hiccup, sales of cannabis have been climbing each year in Fresno County as retail outlets increase. And the 2024 figures could lurch upward even faster as the number of dispensaries in the city of Fresno has blossomed more than five fold within the past six months. From only two stores operating prior to last fall, there are now 11 with at least one more expected to open in the immediate future.
Still, for the past few years, revenues from cannabis businesses — whether retail stores, cultivation or other microbusinesses — in the city of Fresno have fallen far short of expectations:
In 2021-22, city budget documents show that cannabis revenues were nil, compared to a forecast of almost $4.4 million.
In 2022-23, revenues came in at less than $1.17 million, compared to a budget expectation of almost $5.4 million.
In 2023-24, cannabis revenues through February were estimated at about $2.26 million, compared to a budget forecast of about $5.4 million.
Fresno’s cannabis regulations allow for up to 21 retail dispensaries, but they have not materialized nearly as quickly as leaders had hoped to pump up revenues for the city’s budget. Fourteen Fresno enterprises currently have retail licenses from the state Department of Cannabis Control, among 19 state licenses countywide.
“Cannabis (taxes and fees) came in 58% below (so far in the 2023-24 budget year that ends June 30), and that simply had to do with delays incurred of the 21 licensed cannabis facilities coming online,” Mayor Jerry Dyer told the Fresno City Council in a recent budget presentation. “We’re confident in 2025 we will have many of those online — many more, and perhaps even all of them.”
“We’ve overprojected since we started. We never had a cannabis program in the city of Fresno,” Dyer added. “And what we have found were a lot of delays in people opening up businesses.”
“But the good news is the businesses that have opened have exceeded our revenue projections,” he said.
What do pot proceeds mean for Fresno?
Dyer’s confidence is reflected in the preliminary 2024-25 budget estimates that he unveiled in March. The forecast for cannabis revenues is more than $7.1 million — more than triple what’s come in so far in 2023-24.
What’s that mean for the city’s budget? It’s still relatively small in the grand scheme of a projected $506 million general fund — the pot of money that pays for much of the city’s day-to-day operations — in 2024-25.
But if the $7.1 million in forecast cannabis revenue actually materializes, it would be enough to cover the cost of last fall’s orders for 78 new Dodge Durango SUVs for the Fresno Police Department and 56 new Ford F-150 pickup trucks for the city’s police, fire, public works and other departments — and still have enough money left over to buy a new 40-foot-long transit bus for Fresno’s FAX bus service.
And with Dyer warning of a potential deficit of more than $37.2 million in the coming budget year, every dollar counts.
Where is most legal weed being sold in California?
While Fresno County is the 10th most populous county in California, it ranked 14th in overall total taxable sales of cannabis products in 2023.
By sheer volume of population and retail licenses, Los Angeles County leads the way with almost $1.36 billion in sales in 2023. There are about 620 businesses that hold state licenses for retail storefront cannabis sales or delivery, including “microbusinesses” whose operations include retail as a component.
Coming in ahead of Fresno County in 2023 cannabis sales are:
San Diego County, $540.9 million (80 licensees).
Riverside County, $399.5 million (173 licensees).
Orange County, $278.7 million (72 licensees).
Sacramento County, $273.4 million (109 licensees).
Alameda County, $263.3 million (179 licensees).
San Francisco County, $213.4 million (87 licensees).
Santa Clara County, $186.6 million (21 licensees).
San Bernardino County, $137.5 million (44 licensees).
Stanislaus County, $131.7 million (28 licensees).
Sonoma County, $113.5 million (46 licensees).
Contra Costa County, $113.3 million (25 retail licensees).
Solano County, $78.3 million (22 retail licensees).
Fresno County, $77.8 million (19 retail licensees).
On a per capita basis in 2023, 37 California counties appear to have a greater appetite for weed than in Fresno County. Here, the $77.8 million in sales works out to about $77 per person for each of the county’s 1 million residents.
Other leading counties in per capita cannabis sales behind leading Mono County are:
San Francisco County: $256.51 per capita for the population of 848,019 people.
Humboldt County: $249.29 per capita for the population of 134,388 people.
Calaveras County: $247.72 per capita for the population of 44,605 people.
Santa Cruz County: $242.22 per capita for the population of 263,101 people.
Stanislaus County: $241.23 per capita for the population of 545,704 people.
Sonoma County: $237.34 per capita for the population of 479,826 people.
El Dorado County: $236.16 per capita for the population of 187,285 people.
San Luis Obispo County: $226.95 per capita for the population of 280,251 people.
Mendocino County: $208.34 per capita for the population of 89,316 people.
Inyo County: $206.50 per capita for the population of 18,731 people.
Shasta County: $203.73 per capita for the population of 178.598 people.
