California Marijuana Regulators Double Funding to Help Localities Open Licensed Cannabis Shops

California marijuana regulators have doubled the amount they offer to localities in order to allow them to open cannabis retailers within their jurisdictions. This is part of a grant-based program designed to reduce the illegal market.

The Department of Cannabis Control announced Thursday that it is expanding the eligibility for the Local Jurisdiction Retail Access Grant program (LJRAG). This will allow cities who participated in the initial phase to apply again for funding this round.

DCC announced the first-of its-kind program on February. It then awarded $4.1M in grants to 18 jurisdictions by June. In the second phase of the program, DCC will offer up to $150,000 for each eligible retail licensee a city approves, and up to $400,000 per social equity license. Prior to this, awards were only limited to $75,000 or $150,000.

In a recent press release, DCC Director Nicole Elliott stated that “there are still many places throughout the state where marijuana usage is noticeable but current consumers do not have easy access to retail legal cannabis.” We know that many cannabis consumers make their purchasing decisions based on convenience. Having access to legal retail is a way of ensuring the safety and security of our customers.

DCC revised its guidelines for its Local Jurisdiction Access Grant Phase II and doubled its awards. For more information visit: https://t.co/7bHYjTTWrd pic.twitter.com/23ws5nCPkd

CA Department of Cannabis Control 1 September 2023

Local governments can apply for grant money if they do not have a retail licensing program, but intend to implement one. Priority is given to jurisdictions that support equity-centric policies in licensing.

Localities who have chosen not to allow marijuana retailers and do not plan on licensing them in the near future are not eligible for grants. The grants are not available to jurisdictions with licensing programs or those that have approved retailers.

Now that the revised guidelines for Phase II have been released, it is possible to apply again for funding from the approximately 300 cities and counties who participated in Phase I.

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State Attorney General Rob Bonta, (D), addressed the topic this week during a briefing on a new program to assist localities with enforcement efforts against illicit operators.

Bonta said that the illegal cannabis sales are partly due to the high tax rates on cannabis.

California’s Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) announced in May that the state had already awarded more than $50 million in a href=”https://www.marijuanamoment.net/california-officials award-more-50millionin marijuana tax funded community reinvestmentgrants/” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>marijuana tax funded community reinvestmentgrants/a In May, the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development announced that more than $50,000,000 in marijuana-tax-funded community reinvestment grant had been awarded by the state.

DCC also awarded nearly $20,000,000 in research grants funded by marijuana taxes to 16 academic institutions for the study of cannabis, including novel cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, and genetics of “legacy strains” from the state.

California officials announced that they had awarded $15 million to local efforts in order to promote equity within the marijuana industry. GO-Biz distributed funds to 16 counties and cities across the state via the Cannabis Equity Grants Program. Late last year, applications for the program opened.

California has also taken steps to extend its marijuana market outside of the state’s boundaries. Regulators recently requested a formal opinion by the state attorney general’s office about whether allowing marijuana commerce between states would place the state at a “significant risk” for federal enforcement actions.

Documents obtained by Marijuana Moment recently show that the state attorney general’s office has solicited input from local governments and cannabis industry groups in order to finalize this opinion.

A state taskforce has also officially recommended that the legislature passes reparations legislation for compensating about two million Black Americans in total with a sum of nearly $228 Billion dollars, due to the racially-disproportionate harms caused by the state’s war on drugs over a 50-year period.