§ 5.03.172 INTENT.
   (A)   This article is enacted solely for the purpose of raising revenue for general county purposes, and is not intended to be regulatory.
   (B)   Nothing in this article is intended, nor shall be construed, to exempt cannabis businesses from compliance with all applicable provisions of this code and all other applicable state and federal laws.
   (C)   The intent of this article is to levy a tax on all cannabis businesses that operate in the unincorporated area of the county, regardless of whether such business would have been legal at the time this article was enacted. Nothing in this article shall be interpreted to authorize or permit any cannabis business activity that would not otherwise be legal or permissible under laws applicable to the activity at the time the activity is undertaken.
   (D)   The cannabis business activities tax is levied based upon gross receipts and/or square footage of cannabis plant canopy, depending on the type of cannabis business activity in which a cannabis business is engaged.
   (E)   The cannabis business activities tax is an excise tax, specifically it is not a sales and use tax, a transaction and use tax, a tax upon income, a tax upon real property, or any other type of tax.
(Measure C Initiative, adopted 2018)