Cannabis Policy Lab releases its first report
We're looking at you, California.
Six months ago, the Cannabis Policy Lab was created with a mission to educate government staff and the public about cannabis legalization and regulation. Today, we’re proud to share our first policy white paper:
Read California Cannabis Report: Licensing and Market Access.
Our first paper focuses on our home state of California. In it, we identify complexities within the state’s cannabis laws that are impeding government oversight and small business survival. We also suggest ways to address those issues, including by:
Simplifying how the state licenses cannabis businesses
Helping local governments set up permitting programs
Addressing inequities in licensing
Expanding support for small businesses
This work was informed by dozens of people – including businesses, state and local officials, researchers, and long-time advocates – who spoke to us about their experiences, challenges, and ideas for improvement during the last few months. It also draws upon the experience of Cannabis Policy Lab founder Christina Dempsey, who was a cannabis regulator in California for nearly six years.
We focus on licensing and market access because, in our conversations, ‘barriers to entry’ was a recurring theme. Both businesses and local government administrators spoke in different ways about the same underlying challenges in state law.
California’s cannabis laws were written in a very different era of policymaking than exists today. In that era, federal intervention into state programs was a top concern, and there was little practical experience regulating cannabis to learn from. Today, we know much more about what works and what isn’t working – and we can make practical improvements that reflect this and better address the needs of today.
We hope this report informs lawmakers, teaches you something new, and re-ignites hope in the future of California cannabis.
Learn more about the Cannabis Policy Lab: cannabispolicylab.com
Send us your thoughts after you read it: info@cannabispolicylab.com
Note: This report was developed pro bono, in response to the needs of California’s state and local government agencies and Legislature. It was not financed, in whole or in part, by any individual or organization.
Thank you for your leadership on this. It's time to fix cannabis in California.