LOS ANGELES >> The city of Los Angeles has issued a total of 101 temporary authorizations to marijuana businesses since the drug became legal for recreational use and sales in the beginning of January, a Los Angeles City Council committee was told Friday.
Cat Packer, head of the city’s Department of Cannabis Regulation, also told the Rules, Elections, and Intergovernmental Relations Committee that her office has so far taken in far more revenue than was anticipated.
“Originally the department was given a budget of $1.3 million, and to date we have collected over $2.2 million in licensing fees, and we have around about $800,000 in outstanding invoices, so it is likely that our revenue projections through June will be $3.5 million,” Packer said.
California voters approved the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2016, effective Jan. 1 of this year. In March 2017, Los Angeles voters approved Measure M, which set up regulatory measures for the cannabis industry, which could generate more than $100 million annually in revenue through licensing fees, sales taxes and other sources for a city with a budget that topped $9 billion last fiscal year.
Top image: © logoboom | Adobe Stock
