Daniel A. Sumner

Dr. Daniel Sumner

Position Title
Frank H. Buck, Jr. Distinguished Professor
Director, UC Agricultural Issues Center

  • Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Bio

Impacts of regulations for non-profit cannabis operations. California Department of Consumer Affairs. 2019-2020      

Standard Regulatory Impact Assessment for Medical and Adult-Use Cannabis. California Department of Consumer Affairs. 2016-2018

We study the economics of cannabis supply and demand and the impacts of public policies with an emphasis on the California experience. We have focused particularly on the economics of cannabis testing as a requirement of the licensed cannabis market segment. We study the distribution of cannabis retail prices using data sets with millions of price observations. We explore the relationships between the segments of cannabis from unlicensed suppliers and cannabis from licensed suppliers.

My colleague and co-author Robin Goldstein is a UC Davis Ag Econ. Project Scientist.  We share much of our work and funding.

Journal articles

Valdes-Donoso, Pablo, Daniel A. Sumner and Robin S. Goldstein. 2020. “Costs of cannabis testing compliance: Assessing mandatory testing in the California cannabis market.” PLoS ONE 15(4): e0232041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0232041

Goldstein, Robin S., Raffaele Saposh-nik, and Daniel A. Sumner.“ Prices of Cannabis in California from Licensed and Unlicensed Retailers.“ ARE Update23(3) (2019): 1–4. University of California Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics.

Goldstein Robin S. and Daniel A. Sumner.  2019. “California cannabis regulation: An overview.” California Agriculture 73(3):101-102. https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.2019a0021.

Goldstein Robin S., Daniel A. Sumner, and Allie Fafard. 2019. “Retail cannabis prices in California through legalization, regulation and taxation.” California Agriculture 73(3):136-145.02. https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.2019a0025

Valdes-Donoso, Pablo, Daniel A. Sumner and Robin S. Goldstein. 2020. “Costs of mandatory cannabis testing in California.” California Agriculture 73(3):154-60.  https://doi.org/10.3733/ca.2019a0014

Research Reports

William A. Matthews, Daniel A. Sumner, Josué Medellín-Azuara and Tristan Hanon. (2017) University of California Agricultural Issues Center. Economics of the California Cut Flower Industry and Potential Impacts of Legal Cannabis. https://www.cafgs.org/assets/docs/final_calflower_report-web.pdf  OR  https://aic.ucdavis.edu/2017/11/02/economics-of-the-california-cut-flower-industry-and-potential-impacts-of-legal-cannabis/

University of California, Agricultural Issues Center. 2018. Economic Costs and Benefits of Proposed Bureau of Cannabis Control Regulations for the Implementation of the Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) Standardized Regulatory Impact Analysis. April 18. http://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Economics/Major_Regulations/Major_Regulations_Table/documents/DCA_Cannabis_SRIA_2018.pdf. Appendix document with research methodology available from AIC

Events press

How much does it cost California cannabis growers to safety test? https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200423174035.htm

Capitol Insights: "Cannabis is Legal in California.  Now What? Implications for Public Health, the Economy, and the Regulatory Agenda" https://uccs.ucdavis.edu/events/2019-February-19-CapitolInsightsCannabis

Will In-House Opportunities in California Grow With Budding Cannabis Industry? https://www.law.com/therecorder/sites/therecorder/2017/12/14/will-in-house-opportunities-in-california-grow-with-budding-cannabis-industry/?slreturn=20171114173109

State offers new tool to help cannabis businesses go legit https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/State-offers-new-tool-to-help-cannabis-businesses-12421732.php