Woody Harrelson And Bill Maher Complain That Marijuana Taxes Are Too High While Smoking Joints At The Dispensary They Own Together

California should ease up on taxes for marijuana businesses like the one they own together, Woody Harrelson and Bill Maher say.

The actor and comedian jointly complained about the state’s harsh cannabis taxes in a podcast interview released on Monday, known as the unofficial marijuana holiday 4/20.

“California sucks as far as—look, all businesses, but certainly this one,” Maher said on the episode of his Club Random podcast. “They still treat it like it’s poison.”

Harrelson agreed, saying, “They treat it like you’re lucky that we allow you to do this, and so we’re going to tax you 35 percent, which is way more—it’s more than double anything.”

“I don’t even know what’s the second” in terms of highly taxed items, the actor said, citing guns and beer as facing lower rates than cannabis.

“It’s ridiculous that they can just tax the fuck out of you and make it so hard,” he said. “Anyway, I don’t want to bitch and moan. I’m a happy person, generally.”

But Maher said, “I’m not happy about this.”

“I’m never happy when anybody fucks with my money,” he said. “I’m gangster like that.”

Harrelson and Maher own The Woods, a dispensary and cannabis consumption lounge in West Hollywood, where the two smoked joints while filming the new podcast episode.

In California, cannabis faces a 15 percent state excise at the point of purchase, as well as local excise taxes that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. There are also regular state and local sales taxes that apply, plus taxes at other points of the supply chain such as at the cultivation level. Marijuana businesses can additionally face steep licensing fees in order to do business.

Harrelson further complained during the interview with Maher that “they also don’t allow you to write anything off,” an apparent reference to the federal provision known as 280E that blocks marijuana companies from taking tax deductions that are available to businesses in other sectors.

California lawmakers, however, like those in a number of other legal cannabis jurisdictions, have taken steps to decouple the state tax code from the federal policy, allowing operators to write off business expenses on their state taxes.

Maher, for his part, also noted the cannabis industry’s banking access issues.

“For the longest time, it was a very risky business because you couldn’t put the money in the bank, right?” he said. “The banks wouldn’t take ‘your dirty fucking pot money that you fucking hippies got by smoking pot.'”

“And everybody would have truckloads of cash around,” Maher said. “So of course, they were a target for robbers.”

To that point, Harrelson and Maher’s dispensary was burglarized in what appeared to be part of a string of crimes targeting cannabis businesses in the region.

While the situation is changing and more banks are taking on cannabis clients, as the two noted in the new interview, federal legislation to provide a broad fix for the issue has remained stalled for years.

Maher and Harrelson have long publicly embraced their cannabis consumption.

Last year, when Harrelson was asked to pick anyone living or dead he would like to patronize the dispensary’s cannabis cafe, he zeroed in on marijuana icon Bob Marley. But the actor also conceded that he doesn’t think he could go “toke-for-toke” with the late reggae star.

The actor also got involved in marijuana reform advocacy in California, calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to sign a bill legalizing marijuana cafes that passed in 2024, which he did end up approving.

Earlier this year, Harrelson joked about his experiences getting kicked out of two bars for smoking marijuana indoors with the mother of fellow star Matthew McConaughey.

Harrelson separately disclosed in 2017 that used cannabis to help get through a dinner with President Donald Trump.

Last year, Maher said he didn’t get high before attending a dinner with Trump at the White House, joking that it was a “missed opportunity.”

Image element courtesy of Angela George.

Maryland Bill To Extend Psychedelics Task Force Through 2027 Heads To Governor’s Desk

Maryland lawmakers have sent the governor a bill to extend a psychedelics task force through the end of 2027, charging it with developing updated recommendations on expanding therapeutic access to the novel substances and potentially creating a regulatory framework for broader legalization.

The House of Delegates on Thursday voted 109-24 to approve a Senate-passed version of the legislation from Sen. Brian Feldman (D). The bill next heads to the desk of Gov. Wes Moore (D) as companion House psychedelics legislation from Del. Pam Guzzone (D) awaits final action in the Senate.

Both chambers’ proposals are aimed at building upon a current law that created the Maryland Task Force on Responsible Use of Natural Psychedelic Substances.

The Senate version of the bill was amended in that chamber to add a representative of a historically black college or university (HBCU) to the task force. Guzzone recently said that she wants senators to amend her bill to also add the HBCU representative so that both versions are identical, which the Senate Finance Committee did on Tuesday.

The psychedelics panel released an initial final report to state lawmakers last year, with recommendations for the phased implementation of a wide range of reforms to provide legal therapeutic access to substances such as psilocybin.

Members of the task force have already advised that it was ultimately recommending a “multi-pathway framework for safe, broad, and equitable access to natural psychedelic substances, with an initial focus on psilocybin.”

The psychedelics task force was formed following the governor’s signing of a pair of bills into law in 2024. The 17-person body, overseen by the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA), was charged with studying how to ensure “broad, equitable and affordable access to psychedelic substances” in the state.

SB 336 and HB 427 would continue that work, maintaining the panel through December 31, 2027. In the interim, the task force would be required to submit an updated report to legislators with additional findings and recommendations by October 31 of this year.

Beyond the extended timeline for the task force to study and develop the new report, the current law would not change under the legislation.

The multi-step regulatory framework that members recommended last year “involves phased implementation of complementary elements from medical/therapeutic use and supervised adult use, to deprioritization, and to commercial sales,” the earlier report said. “This model broadly and inclusively serves the needs of Maryland’s diverse population while enabling unified safety standards, accountability, and viable economic pathways for small businesses.”

The first phase of the plan would be to create an advisory board to establish safety parameters, data monitoring, practice guidelines, licensing protections, public education campaigns, training for facilitators, law enforcement and testing facilities, as well as “immediate restorative justice measures,” the report states.

Under phase two, the state would implement “deprioritization measures” to mitigate the harms of criminalization, provide for supervised medical and adult-use consumption facilities, allow personal cultivation for “permitted individuals” and promote research processes.

Finally, phase three would be contingent on the “demonstrated safety outcomes and provider confidence” based on the prior steps. Should those factors be satisfied, the last phase would lead to a commercial sales program for adults “who maintain an active license to use natural psychedelic substances,” coupled with an evaluation of the state’s “readiness for expanding to additional natural psychedelic substances.”

“Safety and oversight measures ensure responsible and gradual expansion of access while maintaining capacity to identify and respond to emerging issues swiftly,” the report said. “This approach plans for long-term learning and improvement: starting small, utilizing built-in evaluation and accountability mechanisms from the outset, gathering real-world data, and committing to an iterative approach to policymaking.”

Notably, the task force said it did not support “delaying state action pending future federal [Food and Drug Administration] approval.”

“The Task Force recognizes that implementing such a comprehensive framework requires careful sequencing and coordination, with particular attention to scope of practice issues that may significantly affect the viability and safety of different pathways. However, the order of implementation must carefully consider professional regulatory frameworks and safety concerns raised by medical organizations and health care providers. The Task Force’s recommendation for simultaneous implementation of multiple pathways does not mean that all components must activate on the exact same day, but rather that Maryland should avoid the sequential approach seen in other jurisdictions where implementing one pathway causes others to ‘languish,’and/or bolster black and gray markets.”

Rather, the task force said, the multi-phase approach to psychedelics reform “establishes foundational systems that support all pathways equally, followed by a coordinated launch of medical, supervised adult use, and deprioritization pathways, with commercial sales following once product safety systems are operational.”

Members also said that the model envisioned could be used by other states to develop their own laws that “adapt to their own circumstances and values.”At this point, the task force is only looking at psilocybin, mescaline and DMT.

While the legislature empowered members to investigate potential regulations for other psychedelic substances, they decided to take a more conservative approach in their initial work.

As originally introduced, the House version of the task force legislation contained more prescriptive requirements to explore and issue recommendations on aspects of psychedelics policy such as “systems to support statewide online sales of natural psychedelic substances with home delivery” and “testing and packaging requirements for products containing natural psychedelic substances with clear and accurate labeling of potency.” That language was ultimately removed, however.

The task force legislation advanced about two years after a different law took effect creating a state fund to provide “cost-free” access to psychedelics like psilocybin, MDMA and ketamine for military veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

Meanwhile Maryland lawmakers are also advancing legislation to protect firefighters and rescue workers from being penalized over their lawful use of medical marijuana off the job after hearing testimony on the unique need to give emergency service professionals the option to use cannabis as an alternative treatment for health conditions that commonly afflict the first responder community.

Legislators are also considered a bill to protect the gun rights of medical marijuana patients in the state.

Members of the House Judiciary Committee discussed the legislation from Del. Robin Grammer (R), who has sponsored multiple versions of the cannabis and gun rights measure over recent sessions, but they have not yet advanced to enactment.

Image courtesy of CostaPPR.

Missouri Governor Says Restricting Hemp THC Products Is ‘Something We Need To Get Done’ As Ban Bill Heads To His Desk

Missouri’s governor says the state needs to take steps to restrict the availability of intoxicating hemp-derived THC products in line with legislation that lawmakers recently sent to his desk.

“At a high level, I’m very much in favor of taking these illegal drugs in the form of the candies and stuff off of the shelves for kids to be able to buy,” Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) said in an episode of  This Week in Missouri Politics that aired on Sunday.

While the governor said his office will “do bill review” on the specific provisions of the legislation that lawmakers passed last week, he generally agrees with its aim.

“The way the legislation is drawn up is it helps us match the federal standard that’s coming down on these issues,” Kehoe said, referring to national restrictions that President Donald Trump signed into law late last year and that are set to take effect this November.

“So it gives everybody, retailers, I think, until November, to get their shelves corrected and get in the right spot,” he said. “But, definitely something we need to get done.”

The legislation that Kehoe is set to decide on, HB 2641 from Rep. Dave Hinman (R), would largely align the state with the forthcoming new federal rules removing products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container from the definition of legal hemp.

Under the Missouri bill, “hemp-derived cannabinoid products shall be considered marijuana and shall be subject to the legal framework” of the state’s marijuana law “under which the purchase, possession, consumption, use, delivery, manufacturing, and sale of marijuana is regulated” by the Department of Health and Senior Services.

The restriction would take effect on November 12, the same date the federal policy is set to go into force.

The legislation also contains provisions to protect marijuana consumers’ privacy and recognize cannabis industry workers’ right to unionize under amendments added in the Senate.