[dropcap size=big]A[/dropcap]ll eyes are on Los Angeles as it is poised to be the largest municipality in the country to legalize commercial cannabis. It’s been six months since that process began, and so far it has been a series of stop-and-go progressions, minor victories, and major frustrations.
The city of L.A. has had a total of three public servants overseeing the entire transition to a legal weed market. That’s for a jurisdiction of 4 million people. The most important phase of this process — which gives people who were most affected by the drug war a shot at the industry — has been delayed by at least five months.
The state of California began issuing cannabis licenses on January 1, the first day adult-use recreational cannabis became legal to sell in the Golden State. Los Angeles opened its application process two days later.
This kicked off Phase 1, a priority processing period in L.A. that was open only to existing medical marijuana dispensaries. These shops are generally classified as being longstanding operators and in compliance old rules that gave medical marijuana collectives “limited immunity” from prosecution before commercial cannabis was regulated.
Phase 2 of licensing is for non-retail operations: cultivators, manufacturers, and others who were up-and-running before January 2016. These applicants must also be participating in the “social equity” program, a system designed to give a leg-up to those Angelenos hit disproportionately hard by the war on drugs.