California Jurisdiction Round-Up
After almost four years since the legalization of recreational cannabis in California, two-thirds of California municipalities ban cannabis facilities within their borders. To date, only 172 of California’s 482 municipalities and 26 of 58 counties allow any form of legal commercial cannabis activity within their borders. Of the municipalities that license commercial cannabis businesses, many of them set up selective regulatory structures to ensure they license only the best-in-class cannabis operators. Due to the resulting legal patchwork across California’s municipalities, Global Go presents this local jurisdiction series to simplify the complicated and take a deeper look at how emerging jurisdictions are structuring their rules for cannabis operations.
As local jurisdictions develop plans to provide funding to public services in the midst of a global pandemic and economic downturn, several cities in California are making strides towards opening or expanding adult-use cannabis business licensing. Here’s a round-up of some jurisdictions we’re keeping our eyes on:
Anaheim
In our last post on Anaheim, we discussed the city’s new “Anaheim Cannabis Policy Task Force,” comprised of policy experts, neighborhood associations, business leaders, policymakers, and law enforcement to explore options and ideas for cannabis business licensing. At the June 9 Anaheim City Council meeting, council members debated the permitting of cannabis businesses over three hours. The most pressing concerns from council members were the timing of legalization, potential for revenue in light of an economic downturn, and potential crime around dispensaries. Ultimately, the council voted against putting the cannabis tax measure on the November ballot, which means licensing in Anaheim is on hold (for now).
Fullerton
In our last post on Fullerton, we discussed the City’s upcoming virtual panel discussion around cannabis business licensing, with an emphasis on public safety and community and economic development. After having received input from several different community stakeholders, the City Council is expected to debate whether it should amend the municipal code to license cannabis businesses on July 7.
Fresno
In our last post on Fresno, we discussed Fresno’s recent ordinance creating a cannabis business permitting process, including up to 14 storefront retail licenses. While the City expects to release the competitive application in Summer 2020, we recommend that all clients who are interested in opening businesses in jurisdictions reach out to us to start working on their application as soon as possible.
King City
Earlier this year, the King City Council adopted an ordinance to permit cannabis businesses in the city, including up to two cannabis storefront retail businesses. The application consists of an initial review, where applicants are scored, and those who received a minimum required score will be entered into a lottery. The first two winners will be eligible to proceed through the city’s cannabis permitting process. King City’s pre-application is open now on its website; the deadline for submission is July 9, 2020.
Tulare
Earlier this year, Tulare passed an ordinance allowing five storefront retailers in the City, three of which would be operational at this time. Tulare currently has two medical dispensaries that have been grandfathered into these cannabis business permit and one additional permit that remains available. The city’s merit-based application requires submission of plans, budgets, summaries, proof of capitalization, and other documents, as well as an interview. Applications will be reviewed by a panel of the City Manager, City Attorney, and Chief of Police. We can expect to see the release of the Request for Proposal portion of the application within the next month.
La Mesa
Last September, the La Mesa City Council updated its ordinance to allow adult-use and medicinal cannabis to be sold at the same location, following in the footsteps of local cities like San Diego, Chula Vista, and Imperial Beach. After much anticipation, phase one applications for adult-use cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and testing laboratory business licenses are now available on the City of La Mesa’s Cannabis Business page. All application submissions will be accepted only by appointment, which can be scheduled by contacting Emery Papp at (619) 667-1103 or [email protected]. Only successful phase one applicants will be invited to submit phase two applications.
If you are thinking about opening a cannabis business in any of these jurisdictions, then contact us to start working on your application and set it apart from the rest.
About Global Go
Global Go provides sophisticated consulting services to the global cannabis and hemp industry. In tandem with strategic allies around the world, Global Go serves clients throughout the world from offices in Austin, Bogota, Chicago, Cyprus, Denver, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Quito, São Paulo, Silicon Valley, Toronto, and Zurich. Powered by a team of cannabis industry pioneers and world-class consultants, Global Go helps leading cannabis funds and companies assess and enter new markets; acquire assets; raise capital; launch new product lines; improve SOPs; comply with regulations; implement technology and security systems; find talent; diagnose and execute solutions to growth obstacles; and apply for cannabis licenses (with a 99% success rate on over 175 cannabis license applications across the United States). Learn more at https://globalgo.consulting.