Long Beach’s processing time for cannabis business applications could be cut in half thanks to a $3.9 million grant from the State.
The Long Beach Cannabis Program will use the funds to expedite the City’s application process, update the City’s website and hire staff “in almost every single department,” said Cannabis Program Manager Emily Armstrong.
Currently, it takes about two to three weeks to process applications and have them reviewed for business licenses, Armstrong said in an email, but it can take a year or two to get through the entire licensing process.
As of today, Jan. 19, there are 251 active cannabis business licenses and 498 pending licenses.
The pending cannabis licenses include those for medical cultivation (88), medical distribution (87), medical manufacturing (86), adult-use manufacturing (69), adult-use distribution (69) and adult-use cultivation (57). Ten are pending for adult-use cannabis dispensaries and another ten are pending for medical cannabis dispensaries, among other various licenses not including equity applications.
The funds will be used to “make the application process easier for all cannabis businesses in the city,” according to a staff report presented at a Jan. 18 Long Beach City Council meeting.
The grant terms do not allow the funds to be used for direct grants to cannabis businesses in Long Beach—a heralded form of support for equity-owned cannabis business owners that struggle to finance their fledgling businesses.
“There is some funding that is going to be going towards website design and technology to hopefully streamline communications with applicants,” Armstrong said. “But it cannot be spent on direct grants or loans or anything like that.”
The grant will also be used to help transition businesses with provisional licenses to annual licenses.