By Benjie Cooper
IG: @nuglifenews
YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog
Tuesday, May 1 is the end of California’s grace period for cannabis businesses that received a temporary license on January 1. Those who received their temporary permit after the first of the year still have a bit more time left until they will need to obtain an annual one.
California issued interim permits to marijuana companies who applied at the beginning of 2018 to temporarily waive licensing fees and other red tape to help ease the transition into the state’s new legal market.
But even though the grace period is about to expire for some, the Bureau is allowing the businesses to continue operating under 90-day extensions during the approval process for their annual licenses.
The California Bureau of Cannabis Control resolved to issue the limited permits at the beginning of the year because they felt it would help marijuana businesses get started as well as curb the amount of product being sold on the black market. Around 1,200 temporary distribution, sales, and testing licenses have been issued by the Bureau, though they’ve only received about 120 applications for annual permits so far.
California’s agricultural agency handed out over 3,100 temporary licenses this year but has received only a couple of dozen application for annual ones.
Some businesses will need to pay a $73,000 fee to obtain an annual permit as well as submit to new regulations and guidelines for company operations.
In addition to the mandatory fees and guidelines at the state and local level for dispensaries, there are new procedural standards that businesses will need to adhere to in each of the other steps in the cannabis chain as well.
Background checks, product testing, labeling, handling, transport, system upgrades, and other licensing requirements will need to be met before the Bureau will permit a marijuana business.
All new standards, as outlined in emergency regulations released in November, will go into full effect July 1 and end the current grace period for California cannabis businesses.
