City Of Sacramento Awarded $5.7 Million To Help Local Cannabis Businesses
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Sacramento has received $5.7 million in state funds to assist local cannabis firms and applicants in obtaining annual state licenses.
The city sought funds from the state's newly formed Department of Cannabis Control in November. The DCC's Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Program, proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and approved by the State Legislature, gives assistance to local jurisdictions to assist in the transition of a large number of provisional cannabis licenses to annual licenses.
"The City of Sacramento is very grateful to receive this funding from the state" said Davina Smith, who leads the City's Office of Cannabis Management. "It will go a long way in helping to ensure that local cannabis businesses can receive their annual state licenses and remain in compliance with the legal market."
The cannabis licensing system in California is effectively a dual license scheme. Cannabis businesses must have both a local and a state license to operate legally in the state.
The state established a provisional licensing scheme years ago to assist enterprises in complying with the legal, regulated market. Businesses are authorized to operate under this temporary license while some aspects of their yearly licensing application, such as California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements, are being processed. More than 70% of state licenses issued over time were provisional rather than yearly.