Greetings,
Just this past month, Mayor Karen Bass signed Executive Directive 4, which seeks to identify and overcome hurdles faced by small businesses throughout the City of L.A. DCR is thankful for Mayor Bass and Deputy Mayor Rachel Freeman’s commitment to the small business community and looks forward to participating in the ED 4 L.A. Business Steering Committee to bring business-friendly and time-saving solutions to our cannabis entrepreneurs.
Small business owners like Chonsie Bullock, a social equity licensee who you can learn about below, will benefit greatly from the Mayor’s Executive Directive. Chonsie has run a successful cannabis business and is doing all she can to give back to her community.
Congratulations to DCR’s Social Equity Program team on a successful Cannabis Unite event on June 17. These networking events help bring industry players together and build a stronger, more inclusive cannabis community and economy.
Finally, DCR is pleased to welcome our newly hired administrative team. In a short time, they have brought much welcome relief to our other staff members doing double duty performing their own work along with administrative tasks. The team has implemented processes to cut costs and reduced duplicative tasks. I am thankful for the entire DCR team for their hard work and diligence to keep DCR performing at its best.
Reach out to DCR should you have any questions at cannabis@lacity.org or (213) 978-0738.
Regards,
Michelle Garakian
Interim Executive Director
Department of Cannabis Regulation
Mayor Bass’ Executive Directive 4
On June 22, 2023, Mayor Karen Bass signed Executive Directive 4 (ED4) to identify and address the barriers small businesses face. In the Mayor’s directive, several City departments, including DCR, have been invited to create new or streamline existing processes with the goal of business creation and growth.
DCR applauds Mayor Bass and Deputy Mayor Rachel Freeman who will lead the Los Angeles Business Steering Committee for this ED and looks forward to participating in the ED 4 L.A. Business Steering Committee to bring business-friendly and time-saving solutions to our cannabis entrepreneurs.
DCR has been working diligently to streamline its processes and provide business-friendly solutions. Examples of these efforts include:
- Creating a single umbrella (“parent”) record known as the Legal Business Entity Record, or LBER. The LBER consolidates several prior records, reduces paperwork and fees;
- Allowing more time for applicants to refile an abandoned application or expired Temporary Approval or Annual license;
- Implementing an Operating Permit process that would allow a business to receive a license prior to completing all health and safety inspections but before it can begin business activity. This would allow businesses who are non-operational to capitalize their approved annual license while waiting to finish necessary inspections.
With additional support from the Mayor, DCR will continue moving ahead to analyze the market and provide solutions that will lead to business success.
Seeing Green Through Rose-colored Glasses
Social Equity Business Highlight Green Haven
The word mogul sometimes conjures up images of mean, ruthless business people that dominate an industry by any means necessary. Yet, if you meet Chonsie Bullock, a social equity cannabis businesswoman, you’ll realize you can build an empire while being positive and uplifting others, too.
“I'm an optimist, that's all I can say. A hardworking optimistic person,” she said. “Regardless of any circumstance, no matter if it looks like the building’s on fire, my little cup of water is going to put that fire out. I guarantee it. And it's a refillable cup.”
Bullock has had to refill that cup a few times as she’s had to learn the cannabis business the hard way when there was little infrastructure to guide her. And her formative years as a pastor’s daughter did not expose her to cannabis in any way.
“When I first started, I knew nothing about the business and I couldn’t care less about cannabis. Not to say the same to this day,” said Bullock.
She rolled up her sleeves to learn the business, the legal way, after she accidentally found out about a secret cannabis shop housed in a property she owned at the time. Though it was shut down, it spurred an interest in her. She has always been an entrepreneur and currently has about 20 businesses in different business sectors in and out of the cannabis industry. This includes ownership of Green Haven LA, a licensed cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, delivery and distribution business, as well as GoVerde, a cannabis business incubator.
“When I would go to events - and I would go to any possible thing pertaining to cannabis,” Bullock said. “I never really saw people that look like me.”
“I realized that there is an important structure with a missing link that I feel like I could fulfill,” she said.
She has worked hard to become a success in her own right, and Bullock now helps Social Equity Individual Applicants (SEIAs) through her GoVerde cannabis incubator business. She currently assists 30 different SEIAs. Bullock has built mini-offices within her cultivation and manufacturing site for small startup cannabis businesses to use while they build and execute their business model.
She explains that the cannabis industry is a very competitive market. Success is not guaranteed. For those entering the cannabis industry for the first time, there is a lot to learn.
She adds that she wants to help as many people as she can by using her voice when others might not dare. Over the years, she has advocated for licensing process changes at DCR to elected officials and knows her voice has been heard.
For now, she is setting her sights on a new goal - a retail license in Los Angeles for which she has submitted an application. In her own store, she expects to open up shelf space for her own brand and those barely starting.
“You have to create your own destiny,” Bullock said. “Doing retail can give an opportunity for those out there that want to have their product in the stores.”
Caption: Snapshots of Cannabis Unite, June 2023
Thank you to all who attended DCR’s LA Cannabis Unite Summer networking mixer at the historic Mayfair Hotel DTLA on June 17. More than 560 individuals attended from across the cannabis industry in Los Angeles and the United States.
Cannabis advocate and legislator State Senator Steven Bradford delivered welcome remarks and mingled with industry leaders, licensed Social Equity retailers, manufacturers, operators, and DCR staff.
“LA Cannabis Unite continues our commitment to build goodwill and provide resources, and information to the public and Social Equity community at in-person events,” said Dr. Imani Brown, Director of DCR’s Social Equity Program. “This is the largest industry networking event of the summer and it’s designed to bring local cannabis entrepreneurs and business leaders face-to-face and fast-track relationships that ultimately lead to business partnerships and success.”
Legislative Update
The following State bills have successfully passed through their house of origin and are facing votes in the Second house. For more information on the legislative process, click here.
- California’s SB 51 (Bradford) is a critical bill that would retroactively extend the State’s provisional licensing application deadline beyond March 31, 2023. It is scheduled to be heard in the Assembly on July 11 and is much closer to being sent to the Governor’s desk. The Los Angeles City Council adopted a resolution in support of this bill.
- California’s AB 1565 (Jones-Sawyer) bill provides $15,000,000 to the State of California's Department of Cannabis Control effective July 1, 2028, and every fiscal year thereafter for Social Equity programs and assistance. The Los Angeles City Council adopted a resolution in support of this bill.
- California’s SB 512 (Bradford) this bill would remove the excise tax on "gross receipts." The Los Angeles City Council adopted a resolution in support of this bill.
DCR’s Job Board
The cannabis industry employs people from all walks of life. Accountants, human resources professionals, web developers, retail personnel and more. If you know of anyone looking for a job or a company hiring, direct them to DCR's Social Equity Program Job Board.
DCR By the Numbers
Cannabis License Deadlines
Important California and DCR deadlines for Social Equity Individuals Applicants and general applicants are forthcoming. See this timeline to learn more.
LBER Update
Beginning on Monday, July 3, 2023, all DCR records will be available online under the Legal Business Entity Record (LBER). The LBER was created as part of the new Annual Licensing process to reduce fees and paperwork and to simplify the record storage process. All applicants must obtain an LBER before beginning their Annual License application.
To learn more about the LBER, you can watch the step-by-step guide here.