Nearly four dozen people are in the running to become Californiaâs next governor if voters recall Gavin Newsom in September. One of the candidates is a recent arrival to Napa with a clear-cut message â that the stateâs legal cannabis industry can thrive only with a severe pruning of regulations she argues are strangling growers and sellers alike.
Jackie McGowan, a longtime stockbroker who switched to cannabis consulting and lobbying seven years ago, will appear on the lengthy list of candidates poised to take over if more than half of voters cast ballots against Newsom Sept. 14.
McGowan, a registered Democrat who moved to Napa from Livermore a month ago, seeks to battle what she calls an existential crisis in Californiaâs legal cannabis market, which was boosted by the stateâs 2016 legalization of non-medical sales but has battled high taxes, resistance from local governments and competition from the illegal market.