News

California’s Cannabis Department Awards Nearly $100 Million In Grants To Local Governments

Grant funding was awarded in amounts ranging from $400,000 to $22,000,000

The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) has awarded nearly $100 million in grant funding through the Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Program. The program, proposed by Governor Newsom in the 2021-2022 budget and passed by the Legislature, provides funding for local jurisdictions to aid in more swiftly transitioning high numbers of provisional cannabis licenses into annual licenses. A significant number of these provisional licenses represent small, equity and legacy cannabis businesses.

17 cities and counties were awarded grant funding in amounts ranging from $400,000 to $22,000,000. Grant applications included proposals for:

  • Additional staffing to process substantial workloads associated with transitioning businesses into the regulated market
  • IT systems to create streamlined license processing
  • Completion of environmental assessments and new initiatives for water protection and renewable energy

In their applications, several jurisdictions noted that the available grant funds will make significant impacts on existing application backlogs and create more efficient processes for the future. One jurisdiction noted that without this funding, it would require approximately 3-4 years to complete a full review of pending applications.

View the grant amounts awarded and read a summary of each jurisdiction’s proposal: Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Program (cannabis.ca.gov)

“The local jurisdictions receiving grants incorporated innovative approaches to meet the specific needs of their license communities, which is exactly what we were hoping for when developing this program,” said DCC Director Nicole Elliott. “Significant funding is being directed to process improvements and environmental assessments, both of which will help the state and local governments achieve short- and long-term goals.”

Grant agreements have been distributed to all jurisdictions, and the distribution of funds will occur once signed agreements are returned to DCC. 

The grant program directs funds to those jurisdictions with the largest populations of provisional licenses in the state. The 17 eligible jurisdictions include the top 8 jurisdictions with the highest number of provisional cultivation licenses, or top 8 jurisdictions with the highest number of provisional manufacturing licenses and top 8 jurisdictions allowing all other cannabis activities (excluding events) with the highest provisional licenses. Jurisdictions that fell within those two criteria and had also implemented an equity program received additional funds to support the transition of equity businesses into annual licensure. Eligible jurisdictions and funding amounts were specified through the Budget Act (The Budget Act, 1115-101-0001- For local assistance).

Provisional licenses were created to facilitate the transition of cannabis operators into licensure. They provide cannabis businesses with a pathway to enter and remain in the legal market while they completed local permitting processes and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements.

The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) licenses and regulates commercial cannabis activity within California. DCC works closely with all stakeholders, including businesses and local jurisdictions, to create a sustainable legal cannabis industry and a safe and equitable marketplace. DCC develops and implements progressive cannabis policies with robust protections for public health, safety and the environment. DCC was recently formed by merging the three state cannabis programs.

To learn more about the California cannabis market, state licenses or laws, visit www.cannabis.ca.gov.

#  #  #

Grant Award Amounts

Local jurisdiction  Grant award
City of Adelanto  $972,696
City of Commerce  $416,319.85
City of Desert Hot Springs  $822,160
County of Humboldt  $18,635,137
County of Lake  $2,101,143
City of Long Beach  $3,934,773.46
City of Los Angeles  $22,312,360
County of Mendocino  $17,586,406.62
County of Monterey  $1,737,035
City of Oakland  $9,905,020
County of Nevada  $1,221,188
City of Sacramento  $5,786,716
City of San Diego  $764,261
City and County of San Francisco  $3,075,769
City of Santa Rosa  $775,841
County of Sonoma  $1,158,023
County of Trinity  $3,293,866.65

Stay up-to-date!

Get all the news and info straight into your inbox that you need to help grow your business.

Marijuana Retail Report, is a national daily online trade publication serving retailers of marijuana products and accessories. News and information are geared strictly to select retail channels, with distribution limited to licensed collectives, recreational retailers, accessories retailers, and wholesalers.

Newsletter

Stay informed with the most up-to-date industry news to help you grow your business: subscribe to our newsletter below!


To Top