On Monday, November 18th, Cat Packer, the head of Los Angeles’ Department of Cannabis Regulation, announced that the department will be audited by a third party. In the week prior, Mayor Eric Garcetti called for an independent investigation into how the Phase 3 Retail licensing process was handled. This audit will delay any next phases of the program until the review is complete.
With only 100 licenses available that round, the process involved a first-come, first-serve basis where applicants would upload the necessary files into the Department of Cannabis Regulations’ online portal. Hundreds of people applied in only the first three minutes.
Many applicants still remain enraged about the licensing process and how it was handled. Stating the entire process was unfair and did not cater to the needs of Social Equity candidates.
In order to help combat the war on drugs, Los Angeles officials made it a necessity that investors give a Social Equity applicant a percentage of the new business. Many found the entire process a failure from start to finish because all Social Equity applicants had to use up their time, money, and resources to be a part of the program with nothing guaranteed in return.
In a prepared statement last Monday, Cat Packer said, “The department is extremely empathetic to the concerns of the community and is working actively with city leaders and community stakeholders to seek, consider and recommend any legislative changes and policy amendments that may be necessary to ensure the fidelity of the nation’s largest cannabis licensing regime.”
It will be interesting to see what this third party with find with the upcoming DCR program audit. The longer these issues take to be sorted out, the more and more money is being lost not only by the investor but more importantly the Social Equity Applicant.
