Buying weed in California, start to finish

A tax reversal, a hemp crackdown and a federal move changed the picture.

• October 1, 2025. The cannabis excise went back to 15% after three months at 19%.
• January 1, 2026. Hemp flower, hemp pre-rolls and smokable hemp are banned, and the cannabis symbol can't appear on anything outside licensed stores.
• April 28, 2026. State-licensed medical marijuana moved to Schedule III under federal law. Adult-use stayed Schedule I.
• June 4, 2026. An emergency rule lets stores split their medical and adult-use licenses, through December 2 unless renewed.
• October 1, 2026. New sales tax rates took effect, 10.25% in Los Angeles.
• January 1, 2028. Intoxicating hemp moves into the licensed market and pays cannabis taxes.

California has plenty of shops that look legit and aren't, and the regulator warns their products can carry mold, pesticides and other contaminants. The fastest check is the window. Every licensed store has to post a QR code certificate within 3 feet of the entrance, and scanning it shows the license status.

• Active only. The state's license search updates daily, and only "Active" means the store can sell.
• Read the package. Legal products carry the state's cannabis symbol and a bold government warning.
• Hemp shops. Hemp with any detectable THC is restricted here, and licensed dispensaries can't sell hemp products at all right now.
• Los Angeles. Shops there need city approval as well as a state license.

You can report a shop anonymously to the Department of Cannabis Control. Every store on Alexis 420 comes from the official license list.

Of the 1294 licensed spots we list, 1106 post their hours. Most open around 8:30 AM and close around 9:45 PM, 444 run right up to the 10 PM cutoff at least one night, and 1092 open on Sundays.

The state allows sales and deliveries from 6 AM to 10 PM and nothing in between, so there's no such thing as a 24-hour dispensary here. Cities can set shorter hours. San Diego matches the state window. The full rundown is in our dispensaries open late guide.

Los Angeles leads our list with 152 stores, then San Francisco with 67, Sacramento with 37, Long Beach with 34 and San Diego with 31. The limits and the excise are the same everywhere. What changes city to city is sales tax, city cannabis tax, lounges and how close stores can sit.

Most cities and counties allow no stores at all, so delivery does the work there. Los Angeles keeps stores 700 feet from each other and from schools, and San Diego allows four per council district with a guard on site. Start with the Los Angeles dispensaries list if you're in LA.

Alexis 420 only lists stores on the license list from California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC). Law facts on these pages come from the state codes, the regulator's rules and pages, the state tax agency and city codes, and we recheck them when the law changes.

Want to check a store yourself? Our how to tell if a dispensary is licensed guide shows how.