Who scored the first licenses to grow and sell legal cannabis in California’s new era?
Published: Dec 21, 2017, 8:11 am • Updated: Dec 21, 2017, 8:11 am
By Brooke Edwards Staggs, The Cannifornian
A Hawaii-based company just got the first temporary license to grow state-sanctioned cannabis in California starting Jan. 1.
The Department of Food and Agriculture’s CalCannabis division started accepting applications for temporary licenses Monday.
It issued the first license that same day to Aloha Green Harvest for a small indoor grow, which can be 5,001 to 5,000 square feet. The cultivation facility will be in Shasta County, according to agriculture department spokesman Steve Lyle.
The second license Monday went to Cub City for a medium indoor grow, which can be 10,001 to 22,000 square feet. That grow site will be Sonoma County, Lyle said.
The third license went Tuesday to CalWave Enterprises for a specialty indoor grow, between 501 and 5,000 square feet, in Santa Cruz.
That brings the total number of businesses licensed to operate in California’s cannabis industry to 69 as of Tuesday afternoon.
All of these licenses are temporary, good for 120 days. That gives businesses and the state time to get their ducks in a row for full annual licenses.
The agriculture department was a bit slower at getting its online licensing system up and going for cultivators than the other two state agencies overseeing other types of marijuana licenses.
Related stories
- Los Angeles won’t be ready to sell marijuana Jan. 1
- In newly-legalized states, marijuana is the “it” gift of the season
- Jack in the Box to launch meal tailored to cannabis consumers with the munchies
- California considers “green banking” as it transitions to adult-use marijuana
- Long-time marijuana activist faces charges in California
The Bureau of Cannabis Control issued the first cannabis license in the state Dec. 14 to Moxie for the seed and extracts company to run medical marijuana distribution out of a warehouse in Lynwood.
The agency — which licenses cannabis retailers, distributors, lab testers and microbusinesses — has now handed out 49 temporary permits to businesses from San Diego to Sacramento. And new licenses were popping up in the agency’s online database throughout the day Tuesday.
Ten of those licenses are for recreational marijuana stores, with two in San Diego and the other eight in Northern California.
Big Moon Sky in Colusa got California’s first recreational marijuana delivery license.
The Department of Public Health’s Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch has now licensed 16 companies to make products such as edibles and concentrates from raw cannabis, according to an email from the agency.
Moxie also landed two of those licenses for its Lynwood facility. Two companies in Adelanto got manufacturing licenses, with others going to businesses in Humboldt County, Santa Rosa, Berkeley, King city, Santa Cruz and Shasta Lake.
This story was first published on TheCannifornian.com
Topics: California, cannabis cultivation, dispensaries, licensing
