Mayor credits cannabis industry with a large share of Needles' recent revenue growth

In her State of the City address Mayor Jan Jernigan said the growth of cannabis businesses has been a major factor in Needles’ recent economic rebound, contributing jobs and tax revenue that the city is using for development and infrastructure.

Jernigan said the city has permitted and attracted large cannabis operations and that a substantial cultivator has built multiple 42,000‑square‑foot buildings, with two currently operational and the company creating "nearly a hundred new jobs." She said the industry helped raise median household income nearly 20% since 2017 and that cannabis tax revenues contributed materially to the city budget.

The mayor said the city allocates 10% of cannabis tax receipts to an economic‑development program that supports non‑cannabis projects, and she credited that program with supporting the Hampton Inn project, a 67,000‑square‑foot boat‑storage facility and other renovations.

Jernigan framed the policy as a way to support small businesses and diversify the local economy while maintaining a pro‑business permitting process. She said the city seeks to promote additional retail such as a grocery store, and the council has sought to direct development by allowing mixed‑use and multifamily growth in a new downtown core while limiting cannabis businesses in that core.