California officers introduced on Wednesday that the state will likely be awarding as much as $20 million in marijuana tax-funded grants to universities that perform analysis into hashish science and coverage—together with research on stopping monopolies within the authorized business and securing the genetics of “legacy” strains.
That is the second spherical of educational marijuana grants from the Division of Hashish Management (DCC), which mentioned it’s soliciting analysis proposals from public schools with a concentrate on 5 precedence research areas.
The division mentioned that it developed the highest analysis priorities in session with different state businesses, in search of to be taught extra concerning the implementation of hashish legalization “from financial vitality to public well being to preservation of the state’s hashish heritage.”
Regulators beforehand issued $30 million in marijuana analysis grants to public universities throughout the state in 2020.
For this new spherical, DCC mentioned it’s searching for solicitations for tasks that cope with hashish efficiency and cannabinoid evaluation, the well being of the state’s marijuana business, “monopolies and unfair competitors, legacy hashish genetics and knowledge on medical marijuana use.
DCC is in search of proposals for cannabis-related educational analysis! As much as $20 million is on the market for California public universities. For the primary time, DCC has recognized particular analysis subjects that will likely be prioritized for grant funding. Study extra: https://t.co/z3B25nZzG7 pic.twitter.com/yld0LKBK8t
— CA Division of Hashish Management (@CAcannabisdept) October 5, 2022
“California continues to direct thousands and thousands of {dollars} to speed up scientific understanding of hashish and consider the impacts of legalization,” DCC Director Nicole Elliott mentioned in a press release. “A long time of federal hashish prohibition has hindered our collective information associated to those points, to the detriment of shoppers, communities, our surroundings and extra.
“Our hope is that analysis ensuing from these grants proves helpful not solely to California policymakers but additionally to these throughout the nation and world,” she mentioned.
One of many extra notable analysis targets considerations anti-competitiveness within the business—a subject of rising curiosity as state markets throughout the U.S. have more and more consolidated, elevating considerations about the way forward for small hashish companies.
DCC mentioned it’s in search of analysis and suggestions “associated to potential insurance policies that might assist cheap competitors, scale back anti-competitive habits, uphold the flexibility of small companies to compete within the authorized market, or stop the creation of monopolies inside the California market.”
California additionally appears to be leaning into its distinctive marijuana tradition and financial system by soliciting research proposals to “establish and protect the historical past, worth and variety of California legacy hashish cultivars and the wealthy expertise of its legacy cultivation group.”
DCC mentioned that genetic sequencing and chemical profiling of these legacy strains (e.g. Granddaddy Purple) may very well be a part of that analysis.
“Though grant funding will not be restricted to the recognized subjects, their prioritization offers extra route to potential grantees keen to assist state hashish leaders shut gaps in analysis,” the division mentioned. “The ensuing analysis and knowledge would proceed to tell and assist the creation of a protected, sustainable, and equitable hashish market that protects folks, safeguards the atmosphere, and offers grownup entry to protected, examined merchandise.”
Research proposals will likely be accepted from November 1-30, and grant awardees will likely be introduced in February 2023.
The educational funding alternative was introduced simply days after California officers mentioned that they’d be accepting one other spherical of functions for grants to assist native efforts to advertise fairness within the marijuana business.
The Governor’s Workplace of Enterprise and Financial Growth (GO-Biz) began accepting functions for an earlier spherical of grants below this system round this time final yr, with a complete of $35 million made out there for localities throughout the state. This yr’s funding cap is about at $15 million.
The division individually distributed a spherical of group reinvestment grants earlier this yr totaling $35.5 million with tax income generated from leisure marijuana gross sales.
GO-Biz introduced in July that they’ve awarded 78 grants to organizations all through the state that can assist financial and social improvement in communities disproportionately impacted by the warfare on medicine. The quantity of funding and variety of recipients for that program elevated from final yr’s ranges, when the state awarded about $29 million in grants to 58 nonprofit organizations by means of the CalCRG program.
In the meantime, the state can be taking steps to carry extra marijuana companies above board because it continues to mitigate the illicit market.
California began granting provisional marijuana enterprise licenses as a approach to extra rapidly get up the adult-use market. That short-term licensing class was set to run out final yr, however it was prolonged to offer localities extra time to finish the allowing course of and meet environmental necessities.
Since then, the state has recognized a variety of jurisdictions that will want extra assist to get these provisional licensees into the normal, annual license class. A separate grant program run by the Division of Hashish Management (DCC) is offering that licensure funding.
Making certain that localities are in a position to successfully get up a regulated business is particularly vital in California, the place greater than half of the state’s jurisdictions have banned hashish companies from working of their space, which has helped maintain the illicit commerce.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), together with regulators and lawmakers, have tried to resolve the difficulty by means of completely different means.
The governor has signed a few dozen items of hashish reform laws previously month, together with one proposal that can stop localities from blocking medical hashish deliveries, together with measures on interstate hashish commerce, employment protections for shoppers and file sealing of previous convictions.
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The legislature delivered quite a few hashish payments to Newsom close to the tip of the session, and he acted on nearly all of them in a single fell swoop final month. The governor mentioned the reforms have been crucial to assist fulfill the guarantees of legalization and proceed to deal with the collateral penalties of prohibition.
Newsom as an extended file of supporting marijuana reform and backing the state’s market, so he’s typically been anticipated to signal reform measures delivered to his desk. However regardless of his file, he just lately vetoed a key piece of drug coverage reform laws that might have licensed a protected drug consumption web site pilot program within the state—a transfer that’s prompted widespread criticism from the hurt discount group.
San Francisco officers have since signaled that they’re ready to defy the governor and launch an overdose prevention program whatever the veto.
In one other disappointment for reform advocates, a separate invoice that might have legalized possession of restricted quantities of sure psychedelics was just lately pulled by the sponsor after its most important provisions have been gutted, leaving only a research part that advocates say is pointless given the prevailing physique of scientific literature on the topic.
Right here’s an summary of different latest drug coverage developments in California:
In July, California officers awarded greater than $1.7 million in grants assist promote sustainable marijuana cultivation practices and help growers with acquiring their annual licenses. A complete of $6 million will likely be allotted by means of this system, which was first introduced in August 2021 and can stay open for functions by means of April 2023.
Regulators additionally just lately introduced that they’re soliciting enter on proposed guidelines to standardize hashish testing strategies within the state—an effort that they hope will cease marijuana companies from “laboratory buying” to search out amenities which might be extra more likely to present increased THC concentrations that they will then boast for his or her merchandise.
California has taken in almost $4 billion in marijuana tax income because the state’s adult-use market launched in 2018, the Division of Tax and Payment Administration (CDTFA) reported in July. And for the primary quarter of 2022, the state noticed about $294 million in hashish income generated from the excise, cultivation and gross sales tax on marijuana.
The state collected about $817 million in adult-use marijuana tax income over the past fiscal yr. That represented 55 p.c extra hashish earnings for state coffers than was generated within the 2020-2021 interval.
Photograph courtesy of Brian Shamblen.