Report Reveals Most California Cannabis Cultivators are Unlicensed

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap]ccording to a recent report from the California Growers Association, fewer than one percent of California’s cannabis cultivators  have a legal license to grow.

The report details that an estimated 68,150 people are currently growing cannabis in California, and that most of them are doing so illegally. An estimated 80-90 percent of cultivators who did business with medical dispensaries before recreational cannabis legalization began on January 1 are apparently being pushed into the black market. Many of the cultivators who are being left behind now that legalization has taken hold are companies that have been operating just below the law.

According to Alex Traverso, chief of communications at the California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control, this has led to over 500 cease-and-desist letters. “Just this past week we went from going to licensed operators to do compliance checks to now sending out cease-and-desist letters to the unlicensed operators that we’re finding advertised on different platforms,” Traverso said. “That’s the first step. We’re getting those letters out, and we will follow up relatively soon on the next step, which is not yet available for me to relay.”

According to the California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control, only 1,220 licenses have so far been issued to cannabis retailers, delivery services and distributors, and fewer than 2,700 commercial licenses in general have been issued. Data from the California’s Department of Food and Agriculture indicate similar numbers are being reported on cultivators as well. Of the nearly 50,000 growers it estimates, so far only 1,483 have been issued licenses.

California has been pretty transparent in its legalization process, including allowing feedback from the public on rules and policy and working on the creation of a state cannabis bank. However it’s going to take some time for California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control to continue with legal business as usual, and also maintain control over the illegal cultivation sites.