California’s Secretary of State has launched an online portal for would-be cannabis business owners – CannaBizFile – and enlisted Cheech Marin in a commercial to spread the word. The Secretary of State’s office is the filing agency for all business entity documents in the state, including legal canna-businesses.
“Our new cannabizfile portal makes the process for starting a cannabis business easier to navigate for entrepreneurs. The new site also includes information about registering a business, trademark, or service mark. Our new ‘Starting a Cannabis Business’ brochure can provide a starting point for new entrepreneurs seeking to quickly get their business up and running.” – Secretary of State Alex Padilla, in a press release.
The licensing authorities for the State of California are the Bureau of Cannabis Control within the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Manufactured Cannabis Safety Branch with the California Department of Public Health, and CalCannabis within the California Department of Food & Agriculture.
Filing documents with the California Secretary of State alone does not provide a business with the necessary licenses to conduct commercial cannabis-related activities.
Current operators seeking to convert from a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation or cooperative corporation to a for-profit entity must file with the Secretary of State. Beginning Jan. 1, business owners may register their cannabis-related trademarks or service marks with the Secretary of State’s office.