Over the years, CREC Compliance and its principals have secured hundreds of operating cannabis licenses in all available verticals.

As these companies become operational they frequently face regulatory audits by local and state administrators. No doubt these companies frequently provide valuable tax revenues and so at some level the regulators have no interest in shutting them down.

However, these administrators are certainly not geared to find things right with operations, but rather things that are wrong. When this occurs it can place licenses at risk, operators at risk and also subject operations to substantial fines. Let’s take a moment to go over an example of how an Outsourced Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) would support your business operations.

Example of Regulatory Audit

Below is an example of a regulatory audit from the city of Santa Ana. As you can see, it’s comprehensive and touches on a number of issues outside a municipality’s typical jurisdiction (for example 280E compliance). There is often an extensive list of city requirements, systems & processes, financial information and tax compliance documentation to provide.

Audit Preparation Support

The key to a successful audit is advance preparation. This preparation allows companies to immediately respond to audit inquiries in an organized fashion. We find that when we quickly respond, with an organized response, regulators frequently quickly pass the audit and move on. It is when the response is delayed, unorganized, or haphazard that companies get into trouble.

When you have a CCO available, you will have a more immediate response, that will keep your business in good standing with the municipality.

An Outsourced CCO Will Organize, Document, and Respond to Audits

Our Compliance division has now deployed services intended to organize compliance, document compliance and if necessary quickly respond to audit inquiries.

We do this in two ways:

1. We conduct an immediate review of your entire operations from a compliance standpoint and provide a written report summarizing our findings and providing recommendations, if needed;
2. We then support your entire compliance needs, providing an entire team with years of experience to monitor and adjust compliance actions as the marketplace demands.
   The key is third party certification that operations comply with regulatory requirements,  which provides not just credibility in responding to audits, but also insulates management in the event there are allegations of wrongful conduct.

Outsourced Chief Compliance Officer Services

For more information please reach out to larry@crec.us or Jared@crec.us and we can provide you with additional information to assure regulatory compliance.

How Can We Help Support Your Operations?:

The post Outsourced Cannabis Chief Compliance Officer Services appeared first on Cannabis Real Estate Consultants.

Applications for cannabis land-use and cannabis permitting are now being accepted in Riverside!

The County of Riverside, CA has just finalized the process of developing an ordinance that allows for cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, testing, retail and distribution within specific zones of Riverside County unincorporated properties.

Applications for cannabis land-use and cannabis permitting are now being accepted. Contact us and can answer any questions not answered in this blog post about new regulations.

Read below to learn more below about cannabis regulations and how CREC Compliance can give you a jump start. This is a huge opportunity to establish legal, licensed cannabis operations in a county booming with cannabis activity. Join the green rush in Riverside!

County of Riverside Overview

With a population of approximately 2.4 million residents, Riverside County is centrally located near the Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Diego County cannabis markets. Riverside County offers an exciting opportunity to serve as a centralized base for your Southern California operations. Riverside County residents have a median income of $56,592 a year.

Read on to learn the details of the upcoming ordinances and find out how you can get a head start on the competition by finding a qualified cannabis location in Riverside County.

About Updated Cannabis Ordinance 348 in Riverside County, CA

Made effective September 24, 2020, Ordinance 348 sets the following accepted county Cannabis Uses: Retail, Manufacturing, Distribution, Cultivation, Nursery, Testing Labs.

Proposed Caps: No official limit on retail and cultivation licenses, county may decide on the number of applications to be accepted in each application period.

Read our summary below or read the full cannabis regulations on the Riverside planning department website.

Riverside Licensing Process and Fees

Riverside County’s cannabis licensing process requires the following applications and documentation (of course, you’ll need to submit an application for State license as well):

1. Riverside County Conditional Use Permit Application
2. Riverside County Cannabis Conditional Use Permit Application Addendum
3. Riverside County Cannabis Permit Application

The cost of the above process is based on a Riverside County deposit based system.

The Conditional Use Permit Application with the above stated Cannabis Addendum and Application would require an initial deposit of $9,646.14 plus $5.10 per acreage of the lot or site. Riverside County estimates total fees to be an average of $15,000.00 to $30,000.00 for the process.

Additionally, through the process, a Development Agreement would be necessary which has a cost of $5,100.00 plus a non-refundable cost fee of $1,000.00 for a total of $6,100.00.

There may be more fees involved depending on your site and that activity desired.

All fees that Riverside County charges are deposit based and these fees may be higher or lower depending on the work to be performed by the County.

Cannabis Taxes in Riverside County

During the Development Agreement a County Public Benefit Fee (Tax) will be negotiated and assessed. This fee will be paid annually, separate from any sales tax receipts. Public benefit fees are charged for the cost of doing business in the county by the square foot.

Timeline for Cannabis Licensing in Riverside County

Based on our review of and discussions regarding Riverside County Ordinance 348, we have created the following timeline to illustrate the expected processes to take place during the application process.

Click to enlarge or download our full timeline of Riverside County cannabis licensing: 

Next Steps to Apply for Cannabis License in Riverside County – Contact Us!

Interested in applying for a Riverside County cannabis CUP and permit?

You’ll need a qualifying property, a realistic budget and a team of compliance experts to help in navigating county and state licensing requirements.

Let’s setup a time to talk by submitting the web form below. One of our Compliance officers will schedule a call to discuss your project and what it will take to become licensed and operational!

Riverside County, is a great opportunity for cannabis licensing!

Get started here:

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