City officials in Sacramento, California this week paused a proposal seeking to increase the number of cannabis dispensary licenses in the city by 50%, CapRadio reports.
The proposal would have increased the total number of retail cannabis licenses allowed in Sacramento from 40 to 60. Current business owners, however, say the market is too saturated for new licenses. Additionally, members of the council’s law and legislation committee said the city should first determine where the new dispensaries could be located — City Council member Eric Guerra specifically called for changes to the zoning rules for cannabis dispensaries due to concerns that limited space could lead to significant rent increases.
“The zoning has to be done first so that we don’t create an artificial market that gouges everyone,” Guerra said in the report.
Of the city’s 40 authorized retailers, 36 are currently open for business, and Sacramento’s cannabis social equity program — the Cannabis Opportunity Reinvestment and Equity Program (CORE) — reserves 10 of the city’s cannabis permits for applicants who were disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition. The program aims to facilitate disadvantaged people participating in the industry, including those who live or have lived in low-income Sacramento housing or those who were or had family members who were arrested for cannabis-related crimes.
“I don’t agree with the idea of releasing a bunch of licenses and letting the nature of the industry decide who sinks or swims. Because that wasn’t the mission of the CORE to let people sink. The goal was to give us the opportunity to succeed and create generational wealth.” — Crystal Nugs Dispensary and Delivery CEO Maisha Bahati, via CapRadio
Sacramento is also home to the annual California State Fair, which this year attracted national attention as the first U.S. state fair to allow adult-use cannabis sales and consumption.
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