Jerry Garcia marijuana brand pulls out of California amid thriving black market, high taxes

The legal cannabis brand launched by the family of late Grateful Dead star Jerry Garcia has stopped operations in California amid a thriving black market for marijuana and a challenging environment for legitimate businesses.

A spokesperson for Garcia Hand Picked, which the deceased guitarist’s family launched in 2020, confirmed to SFGATE that the business has left the Golden State and didn’t specify a return date.

“We’re taking a pause in California. We want to ensure CA consumers have the highest quality flower for the long term, so we are choosing a new local partner for cultivation, production, sales and distribution of Garcia Hand Picked in CA,” a spokesperson from the brand’s parent company Holistic Industries told the outlet.

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BERKELEY, UNITED STATES – MAY 22: Jerry Garcia performing with the Grateful Dead at the Greek Theater in Berkeley on May 22, 1982. () (Photo by Clayton Call/Redferns / Getty Images)

The Garcia Hand Picked brand will remain available in Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Oregon. But given that the late musician was born in California and rose to fame in the Bay Area, the decision to indefinitely pause operations in the state was difficult.

Cannabis consultant Andrew DeAngelo told SFGate, “This was a hard…