The State of Local Cannabis Policy in California Cities and Counties: 2025 Scorecards

The legal cannabis market in California has grown enormously. What are communities doing to protect youth, public health and equity? These scorecards, produced by PHI’s Getting it Right from the Start, evaluate the policies passed by California cities and counties that allow cannabis sales, rating them on a 100-point scale.

The scorecards highlight jurisdictions that are making positive steps in adopting cannabis regulations that protect youth, public health and equity—and demonstrate the gaps in protections in many other localities. This provides policymakers, health advocates and others the only comprehensive guide to understanding and comparing the policies and trends on cannabis regulations throughout the state.

Learn more: Review the scoring methodology; see best practices in action, explore scores by region; or view the full press kit and fact sheet.

Fall 2025 Updates

The 2025 scorecards assess jurisdictions on a 100-point scale, with higher scores representing stronger public-health protections enacted as of January 1, 2025. Evaluations are based on six policy areas: retailer requirements; local taxation; product regulations; marketing restrictions; smoke-free air protections; and equity measures. The City of Pomona topped this year’s scorecard with 60 points, reflecting a comprehensive approach to public health and equity. Pomona caps the number of retail licenses, bans temporary cannabis events and on-site consumption, requires a 1,000-foot buffer from schools and other youth-sensitive sites, mandates in-store health warnings, prioritizes equity in hiring with fee deferrals, and dedicates local cannabis tax revenue to youth programs and prevention. San Benito County, which allows delivery-only sales from outside jurisdictions, earned the highest score among delivery-only jurisdictions for the sixth consecutive year (2020–2025), with 39 points.

See more highlights:

• Retail Location Limits: Most jurisdictions permitting storefront retailers now cap the number of licenses (81% in 2025, up from 76% in 2020), and more have adopted larger buffers from schools. Despite these measures, retail density continues to rise statewide, from one retailer per 20,000 residents in 2020 to one per 17,000 in 2025—exceeding recommended public-health thresholds.
• Local Cannabis Taxes: Six in ten jurisdictions allowing cannabis sales now levy a local cannabis tax, up from 52% in 2020. However, taxation remains uneven: only 15% of jurisdictions that allow delivery-only sales from outside jurisdictions impose a local tax, and just 43% require those outside deliverers to get a local license.
• Smoke-Free Policies: The number of jurisdictions allowing on-site cannabis consumption increased only marginally in 2025, rising by one percent to 52 jurisdictions, though still up substantially from 32 in 2020. Eight jurisdictions explicitly permit cannabis cafés with on-site food preparation, and three allow service of ready-made food. The limited impact of the 2024 Cannabis Café bill likely reflects its January 1, 2025 effective date, which coincided with the end of the scorecard data collection period.
• Equity and Consumer Protections: Adoption of equity measures and in-store health warnings has increased modestly but remains limited overall. Costa Mesa emerged as a leader in youth access prevention by requiring independent, third-party ID verification for cannabis delivery — a key safeguard against fake IDs used by minors.

Model Policies for Local Governments

To assist local governments, Getting it Right from the Start offers model policies for cannabis retailing, marketing and taxation that cities and counties can adopt. They also offer complementary resources and expert technical assistance to state and local regulatory agencies, policymakers and their staff, as well as community organizations and advocates.

See previous scorecards

The 2024 Scorecards revealed that only 14 of California’s 539 localities enacted any cannabis product restrictions despite strong evidence supporting action on issues like potency and youth-appealing flavors. See the 2024 Scorecards.

The 2023 Scorecards revealed that only 10 of 539 localities enacted any cannabis product restrictions—illustrating the enormous space for local action. See the 2023 Scorecards.

Originally published by Getting it Right from the Start