Los Angeles committee reappoints David Nash, appoints Adam Beierman and extends limited grandfathering for some cannabis businesses

The Los Angeles City Government Operations Committee on June 17 unanimously approved three cannabis-related items: the reappointment of David Nash to the Cannabis Regulation Commission through June 30, 2029; the appointment of Adam Beierman to the commission through June 30, 2026; and an amendment to the Los Angeles Municipal Code to extend limited grandfathering for some existing medical marijuana dispensaries to Dec. 31, 2029. The committee also asked the City Attorney to draft an ordinance with an urgency clause and directed the Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) to return in 60 days with additional recommendations.

The committee’s action matters because it gives long-standing and vertically integrated medical marijuana dispensaries extra time to pursue operating permits while city officials continue work to address an active illegal market and the financial struggles of social-equity operators. DCR staff told the committee the item before members addresses businesses that operated before Measure M and that some existing operators have been in place for many years.

David Nash, a commissioner and vice president of the Cannabis Regulation Commission, described what he said are pressing problems for legal operators in Los Angeles. "The illegal market is the first step that has to take place because once that's shut down, we will have a much better understanding of how the other, you know, how the legal operators are doing," Nash said. He told the committee that illegal dispensaries can undercut licensed shops by large margins, saying, "If down, you know, 2 blocks down the street, they can ... sell it for 40% less. That's the taxes." Nash said many licensed operators, particularly in the social equity sector, are suffering financially and that enforcement priority is important to stabilizing the legal market.

Adam Beierman, the mayor’s nominee to the commission, introduced himself as a Los Angeles native and regulatory attorney who previously worked in the city’s Office of Budget and Innovation and as a deputy city attorney. "...the cannabis space is not different from that. It is an emerging legal market, and the regulatory framework is sort of emerging as the market is running," Beierman said, adding he expected to listen to staff and the community as he begins service.

A DCR staff member summarized the department’s report and recommendations on land-use restrictions for cannabis. The staff member told the committee that while the broader report contains multiple recommendations, the committee was being asked to approve a limited set of instructions now and return the remainder in 60 days. The staff member said there are "about a dozen EMMDs affected" (EMMDs = existing medical marijuana dispensaries) and described those businesses as often vertically integrated, sometimes including retail, manufacturing and cultivation in locations that predate current zoning rules. DCR recommended extending the limited grandfathering deadline, allowing the Department of Building and Safety to exercise discretion in permitting determinations, and permitting zoning administrators to consider variances. The committee instructed the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance to amend LAMC section 105.03 consistent with the report and to include an urgency clause.

During discussion, members said enforcement against illegal dispensaries and measures to support legal operators — including attention to manufacturing and cultivation capacity on the legal side — are priorities. Committee members also noted that the matter under consideration approves only some recommendations immediately and that DCR will return with the remainder.

Votes at the committee were recorded during roll calls for each action and were unanimous among the three present members. The committee closed public comment and took items 3, 5, 6 and 7 on consent before proceeding to items 1, 2 and 4.

The DCR report and the ordinance language will move next through administrative drafting by the City Attorney and back to committee in 60 days for the outstanding recommendations; the urgency clause, if included by the City Attorney, would speed the ordinance’s transmission to the full City Council for consideration.