California’s Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) is accepting applications for its Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions.
The initiative seeks to advance economic justice for populations and communities harmed by cannabis prohibition and the War on Drugs (WoD) by providing support to local jurisdictions promoting equity and eliminating barriers to enter the newly regulated cannabis industry for equity program applicants
and licensees.
In November 2016, California voters approved Proposition 64 — The Control, Regulate, and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) — which called for regulating cannabis in a manner that reducs barriers to entry into the legal, regulated market.
The program is slated to provide $15 million in fiscal year 2022-2023 to advance economic justice in the cannabis industry, with resources including technical support, regulatory compliance assistance and assistance with securing the capital necessary to begin a business.
Applications must be submitted electronically via the online application portal by Dec. 14.
Officials noted that cannabis prohibition and criminalization had a devastating impact on populations and communities statewide. Individuals convicted of a cannabis offense and their families suffer the long-term consequences of prohibition and criminalization. They have a more difficult time entering the newly created adult-use cannabis industry due, in part, to a lack of access to capital, business space, technical support and regulatory compliance assistance, authorities noted.