SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In the third annual report of the Continuous Cannabis Monitoring Reviews series, the Sacramento City Auditor took a closer look at the Cannabis Code Enforcement Unit within the city's Community Development Department.
City councilmembers are set to accept the 2022/23 report at Tuesday's meeting.
Code enforcement unit employees make up three of the five total Office of Cannabis Management full-time staff members.
These employees are tasked with walk-through inspections of cannabis stores, verifying permits and issuing fines for violations.
According to city staff, the number of periodic inspections and violations issued by Cannabis Code Enforcement almost doubled from 2020 to 2021.
But one of the audit's four key findings showed some Cannabis Code Enforcement Unit data was inconsistent, or missing from its data management platform, CitizenServe.
The three other key findings include:
- 2 cannabis businesses were not being regularly inspected and some inspections were not performed timely.
- Inspections could be strengthened with the use of checklists and standardized practices.
- Management could promote efficiency and effectiveness through the use of performance metrics and documented reviews.
"With the steady growth of the cannabis industry in Sacramento, it is important for (Cannabis Code Enforcement) to be aware of all newly permitted cannabis businesses operating in the city. Failure to create a business file in CitizenServe for each permitted business may lead to cannabis businesses operating in the city without regulatory oversight," said an official with the Office of the City Auditor.
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