California is one big, hot mess. The leadership can’t figure out how to do anything right – pandemic, budget, or even help small businesses.
If it were up to Governor Newsom, he’d be offering tips to every other governor. His leftist ways are ruining the state, yet he believes that he should be the example by which all others should lead.
The state is known for its tolerance when it comes to the law, and that’s not always a good thing. They may even have one of the largest economies in the world.
However, California has struggled, especially when it comes to the selling of marijuana.
Exactly how do you screw up selling weed? Well, if anyone can do it, it’s Newsom.
Marijuana was legalized in the state over five years ago. However, there’s been a lot of red tape to navigate when it came to selling recreational marijuana products legally. It led to struggles within the cannabis industry – and many marijuana businesses have struggled because of the inept governance within the state.
As a result, the state (which is already bankrupt) has decided that it’s going to offer a rescue fund worth $100 million. This money will be distributed to marijuana businesses across the state.
Oh, California…is this really the best use of $100 million?
The state can’t help but love their pot. Maybe the political leaders of the state love it too much – it’s clouding their judgment.
After all, during the height of the pandemic, churches and small businesses were forced to close. What didn’t have to close, though? You guessed it. Marijuana businesses were considered “essential services.”
We can’t allow people to worship but we can make sure they get high. That’s been the thought process in California, and it’s terrifying.
The worst part is that California is willing to spend $100 million to bail out an industry that was allowed to stay open throughout the entire pandemic. Meanwhile, businesses that were forced to close for nearly a year are struggling without any kind of “relief” fund headed their way.
Will this solve the problems that the marijuana industry is facing in California? Nope.
The problem is that the California legislative assembly is looking to slow the bleeding. The biggest issue with the industry is the regulatory process involved with allowing marijuana to be offered recreationally.
California may want to stop pretending as though they have all the answers. They need to go knocking on Colorado’s door to find out how easy it can be to run a recreational marijuana industry. Instead, California is being greedy. They’ve got a lot of state fees, a lot of red tape, and rules that continuously change.
If California would just streamline everything, marijuana businesses could operate properly and profitably. Yet, it’s actually easier for cannabis users to turn to the black market since the state can’t get its ducks in a row.
Cannabis retailers and manufacturers in the state are supposed to transition from a provisional, temporary license to a permanent one that renews annually. Yet, approximately 82% of licensees are still holding provisional ones. Many are simply overwhelmed by the time-consuming and costly review where they have to discuss the negative environmental effects of marijuana business and the plan to combat those effects.
So, California is basically going to waste $100 million. No one will say “no” to the money. However, it’s not going to fix the problem.
State leadership has failed. Newsom should not be the model in which every other governor aims to be. In fact, Newsom can’t even claim that the fifth-largest economy is because of his efforts. It’s only that size despite his efforts. Hollywood and Silicon Valley keep the state in that spot.
As for marijuana businesses, they’re doomed unless California can figure out how to start cutting away all of the red tape that’s wrapped around the industry.
