(a) (1) Effective on and after January 1, 2018, and before January 1, 2023, a cannabis excise tax shall be imposed upon purchasers of cannabis or cannabis products sold in this state at the rate of 15 percent of the average market price of any retail sale by a cannabis retailer. A purchaser’s liability for the cannabis excise tax is not extinguished until the cannabis excise tax has been paid to this state except that an invoice, receipt, or other document from a cannabis retailer given to the purchaser pursuant to this subdivision is sufficient to relieve the purchaser from further liability for the tax to which the invoice, receipt, or other document refers.

(2) Each cannabis retailer shall provide a purchaser with an invoice, receipt, or other document that includes a statement that reads: “The cannabis excise taxes are included in the total amount of this invoice.”

(3) The department may prescribe other means to display the cannabis excise tax on an invoice, receipt, or other document from a cannabis retailer given to the purchaser.

(b) (1) A distributor in an arm’s length transaction shall collect the cannabis excise tax imposed by this section from the cannabis retailer on or before 90 days after the sale or transfer of cannabis or cannabis product to the cannabis retailer. A distributor in a nonarm’s length transaction shall collect the cannabis excise tax from the cannabis retailer on or before 90 days after the sale or transfer of cannabis or cannabis product to the cannabis retailer, or at the time of retail sale by the cannabis retailer, whichever is earlier. A distributor shall report and remit the cannabis excise tax to the department pursuant to Section 34015. A cannabis retailer shall be responsible for collecting the cannabis excise tax from the purchaser and remitting the cannabis excise tax to the distributor in accordance with rules and procedures established under law and any regulations adopted by the department.

(2) A distributor shall provide an invoice, receipt, or other similar document to the cannabis retailer that identifies the licensee receiving the product, the distributor from which the product originates, including the associated unique identifier, the amount of cannabis excise tax, and any other information deemed necessary by the department. The department may authorize other forms of documentation under this paragraph.

(c) The cannabis excise tax imposed by this section shall be in addition to the sales and use tax imposed by the state and local governments.

(d) Gross receipts from the sale of cannabis or cannabis products for purposes of assessing the sales and use taxes under Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001) shall include the tax levied pursuant to this section.

(e) Cannabis or cannabis products shall not be sold to a purchaser unless the cannabis excise tax imposed by this section has been paid by the purchaser at the time of sale.

(f) This section shall not be construed to impose a cannabis excise tax upon medicinal cannabis, or medicinal cannabis product, donated for no consideration to a medicinal cannabis patient pursuant to § 26071 of the Business and Professions Code.

(g) (1) This section shall not be construed to impose a cannabis excise tax upon cannabis or cannabis products designated as a trade sample pursuant to § 26153.1 of the Business and Professions Code.

(2) A person licensed under Division 10 (commencing with Section 26000) of the Business and Professions Code that sells cannabis or cannabis products designated as a trade sample pursuant to § 26153.1 of the Business and Professions Code shall be liable for the cannabis excise tax imposed by this section as if the person were a cannabis retailer at the time of sale.

(h) This section shall be inoperative on April 1, 2023.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 56, Sec. 19. (AB 195) Effective June 30, 2022. Inoperative April 1, 2023, by its own provisions. Conditionally inoperative as prescribed by Stats. 2022, Ch. 56, Sec. 41. Repealed conditionally as prescribed by Stats. 2022, Ch. 56, Sec. 41. See later operative version as amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 70. Note: This section was added on Nov. 8, 2016, by initiative Prop. 64.)