Nicole Elliott Talks About the Future of the DCC

Nicole Elliott has her work cut out for her. As the head of California’s Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), she oversees regulation and licensure for California’s $5.3 billion legal cannabis industry. Her agency has issued 4,000 new cannabis licenses and transitioned nearly 1,000 provisional licenses to annual licenses in just the past year.

Elliott has also presided over a regulatory system that is under heavy criticism. California’s cannabis industry is in disarray, with the illegal market far outstripping the legal one. A cultivation glut has driven down wholesale prices, high taxes and regulation make it nearly impossible for small businesses to compete, and local corruption runs rampant.

Elliott recently sat down for an interview published at Benzinga with permission from Valerie Costa, Special Publications Editor of The Union in Grass Valley. Elliott discussed her role at the DCC, the Cannabis Equity Grants Program for local jurisdictions, California Community Reinvestment Grants, tax reform, efforts to crack down on the illegal market, and the work the DCC is doing to reduce barriers to licensure and strengthen the legal industry.

Read the interview here.