Cannabis BOP Overview

To operate a cannabis business in Sacramento, you need:

A man is weighing cannabis open_in_full

1. A location

Cultivation and Delivery: 

a) in a zone which allows cannabis cultivation uses, including:

  • Agricultural (A)
  • General Commercial (C2)
  • Heavy Commercial (C4) Light Industrial (M-1 and M-1S)
  • Heavy Industrial (M-2 and M-2S)

View these maps to see where zones are located in the city. To check if your property is within these zones, enter the address in the Zoning & Property details.

b) with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 

c) with a Certificate of Occupancy specific to the cannabis activity

Distribution, Manufacturing, Testing Labs and Microbusiness:

a) in a zone which allows cannabis distribution uses, including

  • General Commercial (C2) - up to 6,400 sq. ft. for distribution and non-volatile manufacturing, and microbusiness with manufacturing 
  • Heavy Commercial (C4) 
  • Light Industrial (M1 and M1S) 
  • Heavy Industrial (M2 and M2S) 
  • Manufacturing Industrial Park (MIP) 
  • Manufacturing Research and Development (MRD)

View these maps to see where zones are located in the city. To check if your property is within these zones, enter the address in the Zoning & Property details.

b) with a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) (exempt for small manufacturing, self-distribution, and testing lab) 

  • Small manufacturers with gross receipts of less than $100,000, limited to packing and labeling without extraction activities, are exempt from Conditional Use Permits (CUPs). However, they remain subject to zoning review.

c) with a Certificate of Occupancy specific to the cannabis activity

Outdoor cultivation is not allowed in the city. Cultivation in greenhouses may be allowed under the terms of the CUP.

2. A business operating permit (BOP)

Cultivation: 

  • Class A for indoor cultivation of no more than 5,000 sq. ft. of total canopy size
  • Class B for indoor cultivation of no more than 10,000 sq. ft. of total canopy size
  • Class C for indoor cultivation sites up to 22,000 sq. ft. of total canopy size
  • Nursery of any size

Delivery:

  • Dispensary - Delivery Only 
  • Dispensary - Delivery Only - Less than $500k

Distribution: 

a) Type D - a distribution permit involving all functions of a cannabis business distribution business, which may include wholesale, transport between permitted businesses, tax collection and arrangements for testing. It can be a stand-alone distribution center or operated in conjunction with another cannabis business. A Type D permittee may store cannabis and cannabis products onsite. 

  • D1 - Distribution permits with annual gross receipts of up to $5 million 
  • D2 - Distribution permits with annual gross receipts of up to $20 million 
  • D3 - Distribution permits with annual gross receipts of over $20 million 

b) Type S (self-distribution) - an add-on distribution permit that will allow small manufacturers currently exempt from the CUP requirement to store and transport their own cannabis products through the supply chain, including dispensaries. A small manufacturer is defined under Sacramento City Code as a cannabis manufacturer whose operations are limited to infusion or production of edibles and topicals or packaging and labeling with gross receipts under $100,000. The self-distribution component of a small manufacturer’s operation is required to have a designated distribution premise separate from its manufacturing premises. The small manufacturer with a Type S permit will also be responsible for the other functions of distribution including remitting the taxes to the State and arranging for their cannabis products to be tested by a licensed laboratory. 

c) Type T (transport-only) - allows a permit holder to move cannabis products through the supply chain without storing, collecting taxes or arranging for testing. A Type T permit can transport products to and from a cultivation, manufacturing and testing laboratory, but cannot transport to a dispensary except when transporting immature plants. Since this type of permit will not allow for the storage of cannabis products, it is proposed that a CUP for the premise not be required.

Manufacturing:

  • Type 1 – Extraction: Volatile or Non-Volatile 
  • Type N – Infusion 
  • Type P – Packaging 

A Type 1 permit can perform all three manufacturing activities, namely, extraction, infusion and packaging. A Type N permit can infusion and packaging, while a Type can perform packaging only. 

 Each permit type is also tiered according to the annual gross receipts:

  • Class A - Up to $100,000 
  • Class B - Up to $1,000,000 
  • Class C - Up to $3,000,000 
  • Class D - Over $3,000,000

Microbusiness: no specification

Testing Lab: no specification 

Storefront Dispensary

The City of Sacramento allows 40 storefront dispensaries. In 2020, Council approved the addition of 10 new permits exclusive to the participants of the Cannabis Opportunity Reinvestment and Equity (CORE) Program. Therefore, applications for the 10 new storefront dispensary permits will only be accepted from the 10 highest scoring participants in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process.

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