Every state that legalized marijuana has faced its fair share of moments where their market development almost derailed. Now, it’s the turn of the California cannabis industry to deal with its myriad of concerns. Presently, there are three most significant among them, which are brutally affecting licensed businesses. We call them three unsung pains of California’s legal cannabis industry. Let’s see what these pains are and what can be done to cure them.
Pain 1: Misery of State Licensing
At some point, every marijuana-friendly state either experiences overflow of licensing or too short of satisfying demand. Currently, California stands in the latter category. Because of the fewer licenses comes, there is a lack of access for consumers. Consequently, illegal operators are growing by leaps and bounds in the state.
To deal with this licensing log jam, the state has done its best. The new and improved provisional license concept, improvisation of the marijuana laws California are some of the steps taken in this regard. But even that has not proven enough to boost legal licensing numbers.
As per the latest stats, there are 7,392 licensed cannabis businesses in California. Among them, 2,630 companies have provisional or annual licenses and are managed by the Bureau of Cannabis Control. The California State Department of Public Health oversees other 932 manufacturers, and the rest are 3,830 farmers that come under the state Department of Food and Agriculture.
At this point, California - a state with 39.56 million population doesn’t have a swell of legal cannabis operators. Clearly, it is the woes of the licensing procedure that is making it too cumbersome for stakeholders.
Pain 2: Confliction Between State Laws And Local Controls
Many are unaware of or don’t realize a very crucial fact. Though cannabis is legal in California, commercial cannabis activity is still banned in many of its cities and counties.
And the counties and cities that do show a green flag to it only limit the projects to medical cannabis.
Of course, the local control pitch is accountable for the lion’s share of getting approval on Prop. 64. Still, to secure a state license in California, you require permission from local controls. In local authorities, it is still outlawed. That means there is no possible chance of licensing. These conflictions among state laws and local jurisdictions create hotbeds for illegal cannabis activity. Which in return, undermines legal licensing and business operations at every turn.
Pain 3: Lack of Transparency and Consistency
Regulating a new industry which has so much potential is no easy task. The regulatory bodies have to make many challenging policies associated with marijuana laws in California. Demanding legal decisions are made without any aid from other government branches of the state.
Still, the best cannabis regulators are those that are transparent, consistent, and responsive to stakeholders. In California, if you’re willing to engage in the cannabis business; first learn to be patient because you will face delays and non-responsiveness; which results in a lack of business regulations and further regulatory violations.
Final Thoughts
Nevertheless, I firmly believe that California will successfully come out on the other side with long-lasting licenses in tow. It may take some time, but it is inevitable
