Committee approves forwarding $3 million Prop. 64 grant for Office of Cannabis staffing

Supervisor Connie Chan, chair of the Budget & Finance Committee, moved to forward a resolution authorizing the Office of Cannabis to accept and expand a $3,000,000 grant from the Board of State and Community Corrections.

Yulei Skindirava, associate director of the Office of Cannabis, told the committee the award “will support the office of cannabis efforts to address public health and safety associated with the implementation of proposition 64.” Skindirava said most of the grant will fully fund five temporary positions to perform compliance evaluations of permitted cannabis businesses, inspect illicit operations and respond to complaints. She said the office has not yet received or expended any of the funds and that the state board will not disburse the grant until the resolution is adopted.

Vice Chair Rafael Mandelmann offered to be a co‑sponsor. There were no public comments. The committee voted 3–0 (Chan, Mandelmann, Safai) to forward the resolution with a positive recommendation to the full Board of Supervisors.

The measure, if approved by the full Board and the state board, will fund staffing that the Office of Cannabis says is necessary to oversee compliance and public‑safety activities tied to the local implementation of adult‑use cannabis law.

Next steps: the resolution is scheduled to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda for July 25 for final action and the state board will disburse funds after the Board approves the resolution.