California Governor Gavin Newsom grew up in the heart of 1970s San Francisco, yet he skipped the pot scene that defined so many peers. In a fresh Politico interview, he owned up to his lifelong aversion to marijuana, except for one messy trip to the Grand Canyon. This confession adds a twist to his role as the top driver of the state’s 2016 legalization vote.
Newsom shared these details while promoting his new memoir, Young Man in a Hurry. The book and chat reveal how a strict teetotaler became California’s weed pioneer. Readers wonder: does this make his push more or less credible?
Newsom’s Strict Youth Shaped His Views
Newsom calls his early years rigid when it came to drugs. He turned 19 without touching anything mind-altering. His dad even teased him about it.
One story sticks out from his memoir. In Madrid, friends passed a joint while watching Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Newsom bailed early. He headed back to his hotel room alone.
Another time hit closer to home. Newsom found his foster brother smoking weed from a sacred indigenous pipe. He grabbed it, scrubbed off the resin in the bathroom over and over. That rigid stance defined young Newsom, even as cannabis swirled around San Francisco’s free spirit.
He links this to family. His father tried LSD in the late 1950s during tests at a clinic. It sparked poems and big thoughts. But Newsom stayed clear.
How Newsom Drove Prop 64 to Victory
As lieutenant governor in 2014, Newsom launched a Blue Ribbon Commission on marijuana. He gathered experts for a key report. Then he rallied funds and signatures for Proposition 64.
The ballot measure won big in November 2016 with 57 percent support. Recreational sales kicked off in January 2018. Newsom camped hard for five months straight.
He takes full credit for using California’s initiative system to make it happen. In his book, he writes about teaming it with gun control Prop 63. Folks started calling him the “guns and weed dude.”
Why push it? Newsom saw the drug war’s toll. Tens of thousands faced arrests yearly for small amounts, hitting Black and brown communities hardest. Jails filled up. Families split.
He argued it wasted cop time and cash. California already allowed medical use since 1996. Time to go further.
Legal Weed Transformed California’s Economy
Prop 64 sparked a boom. Licensed sales hit $4.2 billion in 2024. But 2025 dipped to $3.9 billion as taxes bit hard.
State taxes poured in. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration reported $285.5 million for third-quarter 2025 returns. Fourth quarter brought $255.1 million.
Projections for 2025-26 top $648 million, per the Legislative Analyst’s Office in February 2026. Funds go to schools, housing, and victim services.
Arrests plunged. Simple possession cases, once common, dropped sharp after 2016. Racial gaps in busts narrowed too.
Here are key wins:
- Jobs surged to over 100,000 in the legal market.
- Youth use stayed flat, bucking fears.
- Medical patients saved on costs.
| Year | Sales (Billions) | Tax Revenue (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $4.2 | ~$1,100 (annual est.) |
| 2025 | $3.9 | $1,024 (annual) |
| 2026 | Projected $4.0+ | $648 (fiscal year) |
This table shows the steady flow, even with dips. Legal weed now rivals alcohol taxes in some spots.
Black Market Fights Back, Newsom Steps In
High taxes fueled illegal sales. The underground still claims 60-70 percent of the market. Grow ops pop up, dodging rules.
Newsom’s team hit back. In third-quarter 2025, the Cannabis Task Force seized $222 million in illegal product. East Oakland raids nabbed $23 million late 2024.
Last fall, he signed AB 564. It froze the excise tax at 15 percent until 2028, down from a planned 19 percent hike. Legal shops cheered the relief.
He also backed off-duty use protections for workers. No firing for home toking. Hemp rules tightened to shield kids.
Challenges linger. Overregulation chokes small growers. Interstate sales? Still a federal no-go. But Newsom eyes national reform.
Gavin Newsom’s tale blends personal caution with bold policy. His rare brush with weed underscores a leader driven by data, not habits. From slashed arrests to billion-dollar markets, Prop 64 reshaped lives and filled state coffers. Yet black market shadows remind us reform needs constant care. This irony humanizes a top Democrat eyeing bigger stages.
