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City office of cannabis to accept $3.32 million state equity grant for small cannabis business support
Summary
The committee advanced a retroactive accept‑and‑expend resolution enabling the Office of Cannabis to receive roughly $3.324 million from GO‑Biz for local equity grants to help entrepreneurs enter the regulated cannabis market.
The Budget and Finance Committee voted July 9 to forward to the full Board a resolution authorizing the San Francisco Office of Cannabis (OOC) to accept and expend a state grant of approximately $3,324,052.50 from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO‑Biz) for the local equity grants program.
Nikesh Patel, Director of the OOC, told the committee the award—part of the program’s sixth round of funding—will advance economic justice by helping individuals negatively impacted by cannabis enforcement cover startup and operating costs for regulated cannabis businesses. Patel said the OOC has administered previous rounds successfully: “To date, the OOC has dispersed $12,000,000 in direct grants,” and that the office is “one of a handful of jurisdictions to receive grant awards … every year that they've been offered.”
Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA) staff summarized the grant budget and noted a matching component of about $1.8 million made up of existing OOC staffing costs and $500,000 of tax waivers already approved by the Board. Supervisor Connie Chan and Vice Chair Matt Dorsey agreed the program merits review; Dorsey asked for a fiscal impact study to evaluate the local and state implementation and outcomes as the city approaches a moratorium expiration and shifting tax revenues.
No public speakers addressed the item. The committee voted (Dorsey, Engardio, Chan — 3 ayes) to forward the resolution to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The BLA noted the grant term covers April 1, 2025 through Oct. 31, 2026 and the OOC anticipates using funds to distribute awards ranging from about $5,000 to $69,000 to qualifying grantees.
