Title of assignment: Assignment-Peeling Back the Layers of the Onion: A Licensing Application

You work for the planning department in the city of Whoville, GA. The City Council is in the process of drafting an ordinance regulating local cannabis businesses, including the licensing of such businesses. For this activity, in order to prevent duplicative licensing efforts, you are asked to prepare a 2-3 page memo outlining the steps a local applicant will need to take in order to submit a completed application for a edible cannabis business license at the STATE level.

To help get you started, read the following:

• GTY Technology Holdings Inc. (1 C.E., Autumn 2020). San Francisco and GTY’s CityBase Launch Online Recreational Cannabis Business Licensing System
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• . Business Wire (English). 

When writing your memo, keep your audience in mind.  As a city planner, what are the most important considerations.  Start with what the State requires and then create what you are going to require at the local level.  As you write keep the following key questions in mind to address in your memo: 

• What steps will you want applicants to take to demonstrate their qualifications for a license?  
• Is there a social equity requirement in your process?   
• Is there a clear timeline for applicants?   
• What additional information will an applicant need to gather?  
• Who else might need to engage with an applicant in order to see the application through completion?  
• What problems or roadblocks might an applicant need to plan for?   

 

SUBJECT: License Application for Edible Cannabis Business

State Level Requirements

When applying for the recreational marijuana business license, the State requires compliance with the department of cannabis. State licenses offered by the department of sale and distribution of edible cannabis requires:

The edible cannabis business shall provide a preventive control plan indicating how hazards to edible cannabis are identified, mitigated, and eliminated or minimized to minimum levels. This plan should be based on the business activities on your premises, which may include packaging, labeling, and scaling of edible cannabis products for food safety (The Network for Public Health Law, n.d.). Notably, packaging should be tamper-proof, sealed, and designed to not appeal to children to prevent accidental consumption. Besides, labeling should have a warning, such as not for consumption by pregnant or breastfeeding women.

The state cannabis department shall ensure the business has established security and food health and safety requirements for edible cannabis production, storage, delivery, and distribution. Individuals with a distribution license shall conduct the transportation, and health and safety standards shall govern the vehicles in which the products are distributed.  In addition, producers of edible cannabis are classified food safety regulations; thus, they maintain food safety standards relevant to state codes for food processing (Cannabis License Experts, n.d.). The codes should also comply with health and safety standards.

You need to employ a person at least 21 years old and holds a degree in medical, food, or business fields. The applicant should also have a clean driving and arrest record. Additionally, the State requires the applicant to submit an online application. The application process is categorized into two steps pre-selection and license qualification. The two-step application process allows you to complete the initial application and get approval for you and your business before setting a location for the business in the State. The state edible cannabis department is tasked to approve or reject license applications within 60 days after completing the application.

Local Level Requirements

At the local level, licensed edible cannabis businesses shall ensure that security measures are effectively designed to prevent prohibited access to areas with edible cannabis and prevent its theft from the premises. The security actions will include but are not limited to barring persons from being in the licensee’s business if they are not involved in activities expressly connected with edible cannabis. Ensuring limited access, but only to authorized employees. Besides small samples of edible cannabis products for display, finished products should be stored in secured and safe locked areas to prevent theft or contamination.

Social equity licenses are eligible to individuals who live or have lived in areas with high incidences of arrest and incarceration for cannabis-related activities, which are now legal. The geographical regions should have beyond average poverty and unemployment rates. License applicants or employees who have been arrested for marijuana-related cases will receive priority in their social equity license applications.

Moreover, cannabis-related activities must ensure public safety and environmental sustainability by regulating cannabis activities in the region. The activities must ensure minimal environmental pollution while simultaneously maintaining general health and safety.

Unless renewed by the local jurisdiction, local licenses will expire after six months. The licensing department can impose additional requirements if the business is not compliant or is not feasible.

By hiring a state recreational cannabis lawyer, you can cut costs and save time in getting your applications submitted and evaluated quickly with minimum hurdles. Furthermore, edible cannabis license experts provide support from the first day of starting your business by providing strategic planning, building inspections and preparations, financing, and site audits.

N.B Violation of any of the requirements is a basis for disciplinary measures against the license holder.

The six significant steps in license application are:

1. Research the state requirements and procedures
2. Identify any obstacles or barriers
3. Complete an online application and attach relevant documents
4. Consult with state licensing bodies
5. Complete local application

Finalize tax and financial obligations