January 2024
Happy New Year, and welcome to new beginnings! The Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) and the Social Equity Program (SEP) wish you continued success, health, and prosperity in 2024. As the commercial cannabis regulating authority in the City of Los Angeles, we want to see entrepreneurs, start-ups, existing businesses, and the cannabis workforce thrive. Make this your year.
As we start 2024, the SEP team encourages all Social Equity Individual Applicants (SEIA) to focus on improving your businesses. Make resolutions that improve your operations through actionable steps to increase sales, enhance your marketing platforms, and create a better business plan and model to attract investors.
The SEP team has some great New Year's Resolutions for you to commit to this year:
- Get legal advice early and talk to a lawyer through our Free Pro Bono - Low Bono ($35/hour) Legal Services - 10 hours of free pro bono assistance and 30 hours of low bono assistance for $35 per hour.
- Take self-paced online classes to learn new skills through the Learning Management System (LMS) - over 160 hours of self-paced educational content on key topics to assist with standing up your business and staying in compliance.
- Attend live online webinars to learn new skills, better understand the licensing process, and ask our experts live questions. The 2024 webinar schedule will be released soon.
- Ask a SEP team member about direct financial assistance opportunities through DCR. In 2023, the SEP team provided over $5.5 million in rental assistance to Social Equity entrepreneurs. Email dcr.sep@lacity.org or call (213) 978-0738 to learn more.
- Attend one of DCR’s live training, professional development and networking events. More to come.
IMPORTANT UPDATES
SOCIAL EQUITY DEADLINE EXTENSION
Mayor Karen Bass signed into law a deadline extension for 100 Social Equity Applicants selected in the Phase 3 Retail Round 2 Retail Cannabis License Lottery, allowing them three additional years, until December 31, 2026, to enter the license application process. The original deadline expired on December 8, 2023. The new ordinance also allows DCR to continue accepting Temporary Approval applications from retail social equity applicants through January 1, 2031.
The move by the City Council came after the passage of the State’s SB 51, which allows the State of California’s Department of Cannabis Control to extend its provisional license program by allowing cannabis equity retail applicants or licensees to obtain or renew state provisional licenses after the prior deadline of June 30, 2023.
DCRSEP.ORG SOCIAL EQUITY PROGRAM WEBSITE UNDERGOING MAINTENANCE
The Social Equity Program website dedicated to the Business, License, and Compliance Programs and DCR Job Board is undergoing maintenance. For information on the SEP, please click here for the DCR website.
Rules and Regulations
DCR updated its Rules and Regulations. Please take a few minutes to read through the new rules and regulations, including those to Regulation No. 5. The cannabis industry is a fast-growing and changing one. It is critical you stay up-to-date on the new rules and regulations.
Summary of the New Rules and Regulations HERE
SNAPSHOT - DCR COMMERCIAL CANNABIS LICENSES ISSUED TO DATE IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES
General License Statistics
Currently, 773 businesses with 1,421 licenses are allowed to operate in the City of Los Angeles. A business may have more than one license.
Social Equity License Statistics
To date, DCR has awarded 457 Social Equity Licenses split between 5 activities. DCR projects that at least half of all licensed businesses will be owned by Social Equity Individual Applicants by 2025.
BLC SPOTLIGHT
Click to hear from honorary godmother, cannabis pioneer, entrepreneur, and septuagenarian Carrie Broadus, 74, a verified Social Equity operator and CEO of Pot Luck Enterprises. Broadus continues to operate her business daily. She is a symbol of passion and perseverance and a true example of following your dreams.
Pro Bono - Low Bono Legal Services Now Available
All Social Equity Individual Applicants who have passed the Pre-Application stage are now eligible to apply for Pro Bono - Low Bono Legal Services offered by the DCR Social Equity Program in partnership with the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA).
Access to affordable legal services continues to be a major barrier for the Social Equity community. It is critical that Social Equity Individual Applicants and licensees seek and obtain legal counsel early to avoid predatory practices, pitfalls, and mistakes. Applicants can apply to receive up to 40 hours of legal services: 10 hours of free pro bono assistance and 30 hours of low bono assistance for $35 per hour.
Try the FREE Learning Management System (LMS)
As part of the BLC Assistance Program, this online Learning Management System (LMS) provides you with over 160 hours of self-paced educational content on key topics to assist with standing up your business and staying in compliance.
If you are accessing the LMS system for the first time, please log in using the email address linked to your DCR Accela Account and use “Password1”. If you are having difficulty logging into the LMS, contact us at dcr.sep@lacity.org
THE RECAP
Get the latest cannabis news from around the country.
News
- 2024 CA law will protect workers using cannabis on own time — except in these industries
- Cannabis Legalization Would Grow Tax Revenue To $8.5 Billion For All States, Think Tank Estimates In New Taxation ‘Blueprint’
- Snoop Dogg Releases Cannabis-Infused Beverage Do It Fluid as Smoking Alternative
- Opinion: The Cannabis Industry Must Prioritize Worker Safety, Invest in PPE
- Bipartisan Lawmakers Urge Leaders To Keep VA Medical Cannabis Provisions In Veterans Bill
- Assessing 5 state cannabis markets launched in the past year
- ‘Best days are to come’ for cannabis industry, MJBizCon attendees believe
- Stiiizy president denies allegations of illicit marijuana operations, sales
- Pennsylvania Governor Signs Bill To Let Medical Cannabis Growers Sell Directly To Patients, While Also Allowing Dispensaries To Cultivate
- Sale of recreational cannabis in Santa Monica set to start on December 14
- Cannabis redraws US’s 2024 electoral map
- 2024 Outlook: Expected Cannabis Rescheduling Will Help Stabilize, Revitalize Cannabis Businesses
- Cannabis Will Gain Millions Of Consumers Over Alcohol, With Sales Hitting $37 Billion By 2027, Investment Bank Projects
- Florida Supreme Court Schedules Hearing To Decide If Marijuana Legalization Initiative Will Make The 2024 Ballot
- State Cannabis Legalization Has ‘Not Really Impacted’ Teen Use, Federal Official Says As New Youth Survey Shows Stable Trends
- Colorado Institute of Cannabis Research To Embark on Six New Cannabis Studies
- States Without Legal Cannabis Have Higher Rates of Delta-8 THC Usage
BLC RESOURCES
- Free Pro Bono - Low Bono ($35/hour) Legal Services
- Learning Management System (LMS)
- Support Social Equity Program (SEP) stores - Find a retailer HERE
CONTACT US
Thank you for reading our monthly CannaDispatch newsletter, designed to provide timely and useful information about DCR-SEP news, services, and resources for the Los Angeles Social Equity community, SEIAs, licensees and operators.
If you have suggestions for future newsletter topics, please email us at dcr.sep@lacity.org. The DCR public counter is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at 221 N. Figueroa St, Suite 1245, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Call (213) 978-0738 to speak with a DCR representative.