California Cannabis Equity Grants Program Provides $15 Million in Grant Funding for Local Jurisdictions

2.4 min readPublished On: March 19th, 2021By

Sacramento, CA – The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), in partnership with the Bureau of Cannabis Control, today announced $15 million in grant funding through the Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions. This program seeks to advance economic justice for populations and communities disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition by providing funding to local jurisdictions that are committed to promoting equity in the legal cannabis marketplace and eliminating barriers to entering the regulated cannabis industry.

“Cannabis prohibition and criminalization has had devastating impacts on generations of Californians,” said Nicole Elliott, senior advisor on cannabis to Governor Newsom. “As we work to safely reopen our economy, leading with equity across all sectors will ensure a just recovery and further our commitment to create a truly diverse legal industry. These efforts stand as a testament to our values as a state, and I applaud the work being done by these jurisdictions as they thoughtfully embrace this challenge.”

Individuals convicted of a cannabis offense and their families suffer the long-term consequences of prohibition and criminalization. These individuals have a more difficult time entering the adult-use cannabis industry due, in part, to a lack of access to capital, business space, technical support, and regulatory compliance assistance. Jurisdictions will use this funding to develop their cannabis equity programs and assist their equity program applicants and licensees by providing low/no-interest loans or grants, reduced licensing fees or waived fees, and technical assistance, including one-on-one consulting and training and navigation assistance with cannabis licensing and regulatory requirements.

“The California Cannabis Equity Grant that I received from the City of Oakland was one of the best things to happen to my company. I was able to hire drivers and sales representative,” said Jessie Grundy, CEO of Green Peakz. “California investing in Californians is key to equity work. Thank you to the team at GO-Biz for doing more than just helping us get licenses, but also investing in equity companies being successful.”

At least $11.5 million of the funding, in the form of low/no-interest loans or grants, will be directly allocated to cannabis equity applicants and licensees specifically identified by local jurisdictions as being linked to populations or communities that were negatively or disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition and criminalization.

Local Jurisdiction Funding for Cannabis Equity Applicants/Licensees

City of Oakland                                                        $2,434,712.51
City and County of San Francisco                        $2,055,841.43
City of Los Angeles                                                  $2,030,997.42
City of Sacramento                                                  $1,813,612.38
City of Long Beach                                                  $1,267,044.26
City of Fresno                                                           $1,204,934.25
County of Humboldt                                               $1,055,870.22
County of Lake                                                         $888,173.18
City of Palm Springs                                               $869,540.18
County of Mendocino                                             $832,274.17

Total                                                                       $14,453,000

Local Jurisdiction Funding for Cannabis Equity Assessment/Program Development

County of San Diego                                                  $75,000
County of Sonoma                                                     $75,000
County of Trinity                                                        $75,000
City of Escondido                                                       $75,000
City of Isleton                                                             $22,000
City of Modesto                                                          $75,000
City of Richmond                                                       $75,000
City of San Diego                                                       $75,000

Total                                                                        $547,000

The grant awards announced today build upon the $40 million in cannabis equity funding awarded by the State of California. To learn more about the program, click here.

About the Author: HCN News Team

The News Team at Highly Capitalized are some of the most experienced writers in cannabis and psychedelics business & finance. We cover capital markets, finance, branding, marketing and everything important in between. Most of all, we follow the money.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!