California uses cannabis tax revenues to give $35.5 million to community organizations

The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (also known as GO-Biz) announced on June 1 that it would award $35.5 million worth of cannabis tax revenue to community efforts.

Funding comes from the California Community Reinvestment Grant program, which is channeled to organizations that help with job placement, mental health treatment, addiction treatment, system navigation services, legal services to remove barriers to entry, and liaisons with medical care.

“We are proud to announce 78 grants totaling $35.5 million in awards through the California Community Reinvestment Grants (CalCRG) program. These grants will help serve communities across California that have been disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs,” the organization wrote on Twitter.

In a press release, GO-Biz shared the need to allocate cannabis tax dollars to specific communities in need of help. “Tough federal and state drug policies enacted during this period resulted in mass incarceration of people of color, restricted access to social services, loss of educational qualifications due to reduced state eligibility, bans on the use of public housing and other public assistance, and the separation of families,” it says in the press release.

In addition, GO-Biz Director and Senior Adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom Dee Dee Myers made a statement on the continued success of the program. “In its fourth year, the California Community Reinvestments Grants program continues to be an important tool for communities that still face systemic limitations and barriers to opportunity and equity,” Myers said. “This latest round of awards will support economic justice and the well-being of communities across our state that have been disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs.”

A total of 78 organizations were selected across California, located in counties of Alameda, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and others.

Among the top recipients of $900,000 are JobTrain, GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles, Inc., Community Partners as the tax sponsor of the Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership, and Recovery Café San Jose. Most others, such as Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Inland Valley Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services, Kitchens for Good, Inc. will receive $450,000.

In 2021, the program sent out 58 grants totaling $29.1 million, and in 2020, $30 million was earmarked for a variety of cities and counties.

Since California legalized adult-use cannabis in 2018, the state has collected a total of $3.76 billion in tax revenue, according to a press release from the California Department of Taxes and Fees Administration released May 26. That includes $1.91 billion in cannabis use taxes, $467.75 million in cultivation taxes, and $1.38 billion in sales taxes.

Governor Newsom’s recent budget proposal earmarked $150 million to cut cannabis taxes. He said in a press statement that the temporary reduction will help help small cannabis business owners and also curb illicit sales. “That is [the] Starting a process from my humble perspective, in terms of my thinking,” Newsom said. “This will be a multi-year process to get this black market, get it on the retreat — not the ascension — and get the retail and responsible adult use market on stable ground.”

Earlier this year, California announced it would award nearly $100 million to local governments and jurisdictions to strengthen their cannabis programs and make them more efficient. Cannabis Control Director Nicole Elliot explained that these grants would help communities with special needs. “Significant funding will be allocated for process improvements and environmental assessments, both of which will help state and local governments meet short- and long-term goals,” Elliot said. The highest totals went to the City of Los Angeles with $22,312,360, Humboldt County with $18,635,137 and Mendocino County with $17,586,406.62.