Long Beach’s cannabis social equity program comes with a hefty price tag. It still costs money to start a marijuana business. As a result, many have found it too difficult to enter the market and just 2% of eligible social equity applicants have opened businesses in the city.
According to the acting city manager, “the primary reason for the discrepancy between interest in the program and actual business license applications received is the substantial amount of capital necessary to start a cannabis business.”
The capital needed can run as high as $1 million, according to the Long Beach Business Journal.
Long Beach was one of more than a dozen cities that received a state grant to boost its social cannabis equity program this year.
Read more at Marijuana Business Daily.