{"id":3014,"date":"2021-12-13T22:06:48","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T22:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=187996"},"modified":"2021-12-13T22:06:48","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T22:06:48","slug":"can-oakland-save-its-cannabis-companies-or-will-crime-destroy-the-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=3014","title":{"rendered":"Can Oakland save its cannabis companies, or will crime destroy the industry?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>Robberies, taxes threaten Oakland&#8217;s status as US cannabis capital &#8211; Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.5 (Yoast SEO v17.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <\/p>\n<div id=\"copy_clipboard_success\" class=\"fixed top-0 left-0 right-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-white p-lg container mt-xl flex justify-between elevation-low rounded\"> <span class=\"flex items-center\">     <span class=\"ml-md\">Link copied to your clipboard<\/span> <\/span> <button id=\"copy_clipboard_close_btn\">    <\/button> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>                <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Once considered America\u2019s cannabis capital, Oakland is in danger of losing that title in 2022. Legal weed companies, beset by unrelenting waves of crime and a hands-off approach by City Hall, are running out of patience. Some have already left the city. Others are thinking of departing. Some who once considered locating in Oakland have decided against it.<\/p>\n<p>In recent months, dozens of cannabis businesses across California have reported burglaries or attempted burglaries. Growers and distributors in San Francisco\u2019s Bayview district suffered at least six burglaries or attempted burglaries in October. Sacramento-area licensees reported more than 15 burglaries or attempted burglaries into November.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But Oakland operators appear to be bearing the brunt of it\u2014with at least 25 burglary reports in a two-week period in November, and losses from a Thanksgiving break crime wave reportedly reaching about $5 million.<\/p>\n<p>On the steps of Oakland City Hall Nov. 29, Oakland licensees demanded better policing, and tax relief in order to recover and upgrade their security equipment.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe are here today because cannabis businesses in Oakland are under attack.\u201d <\/p>\n<p><cite>Amber Senter, founder, EquityWorks incubator, burglary victim<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe are here today because cannabis businesses in Oakland are under attack,\u201d said Amber Senter, whose incubator, EquityWorks, was burglarized that weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOakland is a hub for the US cannabis industry,\u201d Senter added. \u201cIf this goes on, the city could end up losing that title.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-tax-relief-in-sf-less-so-in-oakland\">Tax relief in SF, less so in Oakland <\/h2>\n<p>In early December, San Francisco moved to support its legal cannabis industry by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/12\/06\/1061792972\/san-francisco-moves-to-delay-its-cannabis-business-tax-to-give-legal-dealers-a-b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suspending<\/a> a citywide weed tax that was scheduled to take effect in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCannabis businesses create good jobs for San Franciscans and provide safe, regulated products to their customers,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RafaelMandelman\/status\/1466506275450236939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tweeted<\/a> City Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. \u201cNow is not the time to impose a new tax on small businesses that are just getting established and trying to compete with illicit operators.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Oakland\u2019s sky-high levies remain.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-burglaries-low-priority-with-a-lean-police-force\">Burglaries low priority with a lean police force<\/h2>\n<p>The armed burglaries continued in December. Oakland police report they are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcbayarea.com\/news\/local\/oakland-poised-to-fill-police-officer-vacancies-with-hiring-incentives\/2749659\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">down 60 sworn officers<\/a>, and unable to respond quickly. The police chief has reported 129 homicides, 600 shootings, nearly 2,500 robberies, and nearly 500 carjackings in Oakland so far in 2021. <\/p>\n<p>Robbers hit Presto Canna in Oakland\u2019s Fruitvale neighborhood <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ktvu.com\/news\/oakland-cannabis-business-hit-twice-in-back-to-back-burglaries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">twice on Dec. 8<\/a>, spending nearly two hours to load up and leave with $50,000 in goods, reports state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe robberies of cannabis businesses in Oakland are still happening,\u201d Senter reported on Dec. 8. \u201cMultiple armed robberies last night.\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n[embedded content]\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Earlier this month, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf moved to double the number of officers on the city\u2019s police force. But newly hired cops, if they can be recruited, will take months to deploy.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, licensed operators are bracing for more crime over the holiday break. The fear, frustration, and paranoia are palpable across town.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-robbing-their-own-golden-goose\">Robbing their own golden goose<\/h2>\n<p>Oakland helped invent the concept of medical marijuana, legal cannabis, and licensing and taxing it. That\u2019s what makes this latest chapter for the industry so tragic.<\/p>\n<p>Oakland was the first city in America to create a medical marijuana program, the first to tax co-ops in 2009, the first to license stores and farms in 2010, and it was the first to issue distribution licenses after adult-use was legalized in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s how Oakland became a mecca of cannabis,\u201d Amber Senter said, noting that actions like that were what drew so many weed businesses to the city.<\/p>\n<p>Now she and others in the industry say, the business and safety climate is repelling companies. She warned that several cannabis companies are considering leaving town, and startups are hesitant to locate there because \u201cincentives to operate in Oakland are few.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-long-simmering-crime-problems-boil-over\">Long-simmering crime problems boil over<\/h2>\n<p>2021\u2019s Thanksgiving crime wave illustrated how the longtime practice of robbing California cannabis licensees has evolved. <\/p>\n<p>Underground growers and dealers have long-been subject to robbery. As the state\u2019s medical and adult-use industries came online, licensees experienced the same robbery attempts, with a twist.<\/p>\n<p>Locked out of the banking system due to federal prohibition, cannabis companies offered thieves three attractive qualities: cash, cannabis, and a known public address. <\/p>\n<p>In the pandemic era, legal cannabis ripping crews got much more organized. <\/p>\n<p>In<a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/politics\/43-west-coast-cannabis-dispensaries-report-looting-in-weekend-rioting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> June of 2020<\/a>, caravans of burglars hit dozens of businesses amid the protests over the killing of George Floyd. Coordinated theft rings took advantage of social unrest to rob an estimated 40 cannabis businesses on the West Coast.<\/p>\n<p>Criminals refined the flash-robbery playbook in 2021.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-the-thanksgiving-wave\">The Thanksgiving wave<\/h3>\n<p>On the weekend of Nov. 20\u2014after the Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal verdict of Nov. 19\u2014burglars ransacked at least 25 cannabis businesses in Oakland. They included distributors, manufacturers, and retailers. Security footage showed groups of masked men plundering warehouses and vandalizing stores.<\/p>\n<p>This list of businesses <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-10274993\/Spate-robberies-San-Francisco-Bay-Area-threatens-survival-cannabis-shops.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> robbed included: <a href=\"https:\/\/mjbizdaily.com\/new-rash-of-california-cannabis-robberies-threaten-survival-of-some-businesses\/?utm_source=fark&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_content=link&amp;ICID=ref_fark\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Blunts &amp; Moore<\/a>, Community Gardens, Eco Cannabis, Magnolia Oakland, Organicann, Phytologie Oakland, Purple Heart Patient Center.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"A smashed glass display case from Organicann in Oakland, one of 25 burglary victims in an ongoing crime wave in Oakland. \" class=\"wp-image-188028 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/can-oakland-save-its-cannabis-companies-or-will-crime-destroy-the-industry-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/can-oakland-save-its-cannabis-companies-or-will-crime-destroy-the-industry-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/can-oakland-save-its-cannabis-companies-or-will-crime-destroy-the-industry-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/can-oakland-save-its-cannabis-companies-or-will-crime-destroy-the-industry-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>\u201cThey destroyed stuff just for pleasure and stole everything,\u201d the owner of Organicann in North Oakland told Leafly. (Courtesy Organicann)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The industry reports read like something out of the Wild West:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>One industry member <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CWEFt1vPMvI\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span>reported<\/span><\/a>, \u201c3 carloads of guys armed with guns tried to get in the gate. Lucky for us we welded it and they thought it was still broken. Later they ended up breaking the welds. They came again at around 2:30 a.m. Left before the cops showed up. Then came back around 4:40. Left before the cops came. Then came back at 6:30 a.m. and got inside the building through the roll up door.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>In another, armed security and burglars exchanged fire, injuring one.<\/li>\n<li>In another, suspects riddled a police car with bullets as the cops arrived to investigate a burglary at a dispensary, only to find a bunch of people fleeing the store clutching merchandise.<\/li>\n<li>In another, \u201cfive or six people smashed their way through the wall with sledgehammers,\u201d an Oakland delivery service operator told Leafly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CWEFt1vPMvI\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"><\/blockquote>\n<p>Victims also included participants in Oakland\u2019s social equity program, which is designed to give a leg up to people who have been harmed by the War on Drugs, particularly people of color and those who have done jail time for weed. Those companies often operate on a shoestring, and might not even exist without the help of other companies donating space and other assistance to them.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-mayor-supports-sky-high-taxes\">Mayor supports sky-high taxes<\/h2>\n<p>Cannabis operators say it\u2019s especially frustrating to experience such slow police response times, given the heavy and unequal tax burden they bear. Oakland cannabis companies paid the city <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/eastbay\/article\/Oakland-cannabis-merchants-say-they-re-under-16661181.php#photo-21768503\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$22.36 million<\/a> in taxes over the past two years, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. And Oakland cannabis licensees pay a tax rate hundreds of times higher than any other type of business in the city.<\/p>\n<p>Years ago, Oakland started with an extremely high, 10% gross receipts tax on cannabis businesses. Of every dollar that came in the door, a dime went to the city tax collector. That\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/lifestyle\/california-weed-tax-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">417 times higher than Oakland\u2019s tax on gun shops<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Oakland lowered its weed tax by several points. Currently, the very smallest companies\u2014those that bring in less than $500,000 a year\u2014pay nothing in city cannabis tax. Rates vary for larger businesses, and are stepping downward. By next year they\u2019ll range up to 5% of gross receipts\u2014which is still 208 times higher than an Oakland gun store pays. Five percent is many businesses\u2019 profit margin. <\/p>\n<p>The City Council unanimously approved the 2019 reduction despite opposition from Mayor Libby Schaff, who warned about the fiscal impact on the city budget.<\/p>\n<p>Given all the burglaries, taxes need to be lowered even more, or eliminated altogether, many cannabis executives say.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/lifestyle\/california-weed-tax-guide\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>We found the city with the lowest weed tax in California<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>At Nov. 29\u2019s news conference, Cookies Oakland dispensary owner Salwa Ibrahim called for a tax strike until the city seriously addresses the problem. It\u2019s not yet clear how many operators have signed on with that idea.<\/p>\n<p>Oakland City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan has been harshly critical of both the police responses to the crime sprees and to what she sees as hostility toward the cannabis industry by both top police officials and Mayor Schaff.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, Kaplan proposed a measure to forgive or defer city loans to cannabis businesses, and give those businesses cash to help them better secure and fortify their front doors.<\/p>\n<p>Kaplan called the mayor and police leaders of Oakland \u201cright-wing,\u201d at least in regard to their attitude toward legal cannabis.<\/p>\n<p>As the council considers her ordinance, Kaplan is asking the city administration to treat cannabis like any other business, and for police to ensure that the industry gets adequate protection, which she says is woefully lacking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOakland has a proud history in the cannabis movement,\u201d Kaplan said. \u201cThese are legal, licensed, tax-paying entities and are fully deserving of equal protection of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/can-oakland-save-its-cannabis-companies-or-will-crime-destroy-the-industry.jpg\" alt=\"Dan Mitchell's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Dan Mitchell<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Dan Mitchell has written for The New York Times, Fortune, the San Francisco Chronicle, Wired, and other publications. He is based in Oakland, California.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/dan-mitchell\">View Dan Mitchell&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2021-12-13 22:22:45 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robberies, taxes threaten Oakland&#8217;s status as US cannabis capital &#8211; Leafly Link copied to your clipboard Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Once considered America\u2019s cannabis capital, Oakland is in danger of losing that title in 2022. Legal weed companies, beset by unrelenting waves of crime and a hands-off approach by City Hall, are running out of patience. 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