Lawmakers May Not Meet Deadline for Creating Regulatory Framework for CA’s Recreational Industry
Monday’s meeting of state lawmakers at the Capitol pointed to the possibility that California’s regulatory framework for recreational cannabis would not be completed by the end of the year.
Officials originally stated they would begin licensing adult-use cannabis licenses by January 1, 2018. During the January 30 meeting, various Senate committees questioned whether the next 11 months would indeed give the state enough time to do so.
Senator Jerry Hill of San Mateo was one of the state lawmakers who voiced concern about meeting the deadline. “Frankly, I have to say that there is a considerable amount of skepticism from some of us up here about meeting that deadline,” Hill said.
Even the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation’s (BMCR) Chief, Lori Ajax, acknowledged the challenge ahead of state lawmakers. “There are a lot of challenges,” Ajax said. The department is in charge of regulating both the medical and recreational cannabis industries in California.
Even if the licensing system is not completely operational by the first day of 2018, BMCR still plans on processing applications and issuing provisional licenses. “We are not going to be able to grant everyone a license on January 1, 2018,” Ajax said. “Some may get temporary licenses while the tens of thousands are being processed.”
The process may be moving slow, since the bureau isn’t staffed up to its needs. For example, only 11 positions have been staffed, when it has been reported that 17 new positions must be filled in order to get the regulatory framework squared away.
While some lawmakers voiced concern about the delay, others did not seem affected. “I don’t necessarily think it’s a catastrophe if it’s not done exactly on January 1,” California Director of Safe Access said. “Obviously we want to get it done. If it takes an extra three or four months, that would be fine. I think it’s more important to get right than to do it fast.”
Ajax’s bureau isn’t the only agency involved in regulating California’s new cannabis industry. The Department of Public Health and California Department of Food and Agriculture are currently regulating the licensing and taxation for both medical and recreational cannabis cultivation in the state.
