Articles Posted in Cannabis Compliance

How a Los Angeles cannabis license ownership change works under LAMC 104.03, the 51% Social Equity share rules, and what triggers a DCR Notice to Correct.

What a DCR Notice of Revocation or Suspension means in Los Angeles, the 5-day appeal deadline, the 10-day hearing, reinstatement, and DCC fallout.

What a Los Angeles DCR Notice of Violation means, the 15-day appeal clock, penalty factors, stipulated agreements, and how the LAMC 104.14 hearing works.

Short answer: In the City of Los Angeles, you cannot buy or sell a licensed cannabis business by signing a purchase agreement. Every change to a licensed entity’s ownership structure requires prior written approval from the Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR). The core filing is LIC-4004-MOD (Application Modification Request – Ownership Structure), submitted…

California’s Department of Cannabis Control has proposed one of the most consequential changes to cultivation compliance in years: group plant tagging, allowing licensees to tag groups of plants under a single unique identifier rather than affixing a tag to every plant. The proposal, DCC-2026-03-R, closed its public comment period on July 27, 2026, and now…

On July 1, 2026, California’s new cannabis cultivation and sanitation rules from the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) took effect, trimming several long-standing reporting obligations for cultivators while introducing the state’s first dedicated minimum sanitation standards for licensees who handle exposed cannabis. These rules are now in force, and licensees should confirm their practices comply.…

The California Department of Cannabis Control is moving to tighten the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system and shut down lab shopping, and the changes would reach nearly every licensee in the supply chain. The proposed rulemaking, designated DCC-2026-02-R: Track and Trace Updates, completed its written comment period on July 20, 2026, and the Department held a…

DCC inspections are often unannounced. Here is what inspectors check – license posting, records, track-and-trace, surveillance, premises – and how to be ready before they walk in.

The best way to survive a DCC audit is to run your own first. Here is a practical annual self-audit covering licensing, records, track-and-trace, security, and ownership – with the rules behind each.

Adding, removing, or changing an owner or financial interest holder triggers a 14-day reporting duty to the DCC under 4 CCR section 15023. Miss it – or leave someone off – and you invite an enforcement problem.