60 cannabis businesses in LA are about to lose their license

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The city is cracking down on companies who haven’t kept up with licensing fees

Here is the problem with marijuana becoming licensed and legal these days. Marijuana growers and retailers are now under the direct control of state, county and city governments that can change the rules on them without even a consultation. That’s what is happening in LA, where at least 57 licensed and legal cannabis companies are under immediate threat of losing their business permits and, therefore, their businesses.

City authorities in LA appear to be ready to take back those permissions at the end of the year. On top of that, they are not providing any path open to get the licenses reinstated. The current threat involves both retailers and distributors and anyone else permitted by the city. The LA Department of Cannabis Regulation has issued 418 business permits, and those 57 affected now represent roughly 14% of the total number of cannabis businesses in the LA area.

There is a motion pending before the City Council to save the 57 companies; however, they will not meet again until January 8. But members of the council are warning the businesses that they could be forced out of business after the first of the year.

Jerred Kiloh, the president of LA-based United Cannabis Business Association, said, “The situation has many business owners ‘frantic.’ They’re so scared, they don’t know what to do.” Some of these people have been running dispensaries in Los Angeles for over a decade.

The trouble comes from the fact that these 57 companies have not paid their annual license renewal fees of $4,233 nor have they filled out the license renewal applications for 2021, which were due on November 2. If no recourse is found, those companies will have to start the entire application process over from scratch.