California officials award more than $50 million in marijuana tax-funded community reinvestment grants

California announced Thursday that it had awarded grants totaling more than $50 Million in community reinvestment funds funded by marijuana taxes.

The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, or GO-Biz, said the funds were being distributed to 31 local health departments and nonprofit community-based organizations that promote economic and social growth in areas disproportionately affected by the drug war.

The office has funded the grants for the fifth consecutive year. The cannabis tax dollars supporting the program have increased by approximately $15 million in comparison to last year.

The money will be used for a variety of initiatives, including job placement, treatment for mental illness and substance abuse disorders, legal services, and links to medical care.

Examples of organizations receiving grants

• Goodwill of San Francisco Bay: 2,998,487.50
• Los Angeles Conservation Corps: $1,933,467.60
• County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health : $3,000,000.00
• Uncommon law: $3,000,000.00
• Monterey County Health Department : $3,000,000.00
• Pro Bono Project Silicon Valley: $600,000.00

GO-Biz stated they “anticipate releasing our next grant invitation in August 2023.”

The funding levels of the program are consistently increasing from year to year. CalCRG, for instance, awarded $29 million to 58 non-profit organizations in 2021. The program was announced for the first time in April 2020.

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California’s Department of Cannabis Control also recently awarded nearly 20 million dollars in research grants funded by marijuana tax revenues to 16 academic institutions for the study of cannabis, including novel cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, and the genetics of “legacy” strains of the state.

DCC announced in February that they would launch a grant program for cities and counties to help them establish local cannabis licensing programs in order to meet unmet consumer demands and curb the illicit market.

In the same month, California officials also announced that they had awarded $15 million to local efforts in order to promote equity within the marijuana industry. GO-Biz allocated the funds through the Cannabis Equity Grants Program to local jurisdictions in 16 cities and counties throughout the state. Late last year, applications for the program opened.

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

The governor’s signed law last year, which empowered him to enter agreements with other states that allow the importation and exportation of marijuana products.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat from California, said that he also wants marijuana to be legalized federally. This is partly so that the cannabis farmers in his state can “legally provide the rest of the country.”

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.

A California bill that would legalize possession of certain psychedelics and facilitate their use was passed by the Senate on Thursday . It now moves to the Assembly to be considered.

Maryland Officials Release draft marijuana rules to prepare for legalization this summer

Photo by California State Fair.

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