Sacramento, CA – Today, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) announced $18.4 million in grant funding to assist 18 local jurisdictions as they eliminate barriers to entry in the regulated cannabis industry, thereby promoting equitable economic opportunities for local applicants and licensees. Offering these types of assistance also supports statewide efforts to reduce and eliminate the illicit cannabis market by bringing more people into the legal marketplace.

These cities and counties will use this funding to support a range of activities, including the support of program applicants and licensees who face financial barriers to entry into the cannabis industry 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.

To date, this program has granted a total of $123.4 million to 34 local jurisdictions across California. As of December 2024, the cities and counties that have received these grants have licensed 1,446 Californians who faced barriers to the industry across California.

The full list of awardees and their respective grant amounts are listed below:

Local Jurisdiction Funding for Cannabis Equity Applicants/Licensees

City of Los Angeles                                        $3,500,000.00
City and County of San Francisco                  $3,324,052.50
City of Oakland                                              $2,074,369.75
City of Sacramento                                        $1,680,777.31
County of San Diego                                      $1,413,134.46
City of Long Beach                                        $1,198,263.18
County of Humboldt                                       $657,436.98
County of Mendocino                                     $612,689.88
City of Richmond                                           $600,000.00
County of Sonoma                                          $558,102.04
City of Nevada City                                        $557,845.81
City of Palm Springs                                       $538,328.09
County of Nevada                                           $500,000.00
County of Trinity                                            $500,000.00
City of Vista                                                   $250,000.00
City of Watsonville                                         $250,000.00
City of Coachella                                            $200,000.00

Total                                                               $18,415,000.00

Local Jurisdiction Funding for Cannabis Equity Assessment/Program Development

City of Santa Monica                                      $35,000.00

 Total                                                               $35,000.00

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