Los Angeles has revised its cannabis ordinance and tweaked some other related rules in an effort to speed up business license application processing and approval timelines.
The widespread changes, approved in April by the City Council and L.A.’s Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR), hope to quell mounting frustrations and criticism from the marijuana industry – and the city’s own regulators and lawmakers.
The modifications will affect more than 2,500 existing marijuana businesses across L.A. and countless applicants and operators in the pipeline as well as expand the nation’s largest social equity program.
The biggest regulatory changes, according to industry experts and the DCR, include:
- Mandating timelines for the DCR to process license applications and modifications.
- Creating a pathway for applicants to refile applications deemed “abandoned” after Jan. 1, 2022.
- Establishing a new window for social equity verification. The window will open May 26 for 60 days, and applicants will have new criteria to qualify for the designation.
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