Nonprofits in the state of California are receiving a funding boost from a surprising source — the sale of marijuana. For the past couple of years, California has allocated some of the taxes and fees collected from cannabis businesses to a grant program targeting community-based organizations serving populations that have taken the brunt of the failed war on drugs.
At the moment, almost $100 million has so far been awarded as grants to nonprofits, and this funding is expected to reach $175 million by May.
A typical example of the beneficiaries of this funding is Fathers & Families of San Joaquin. This small community-based nonprofit serves young people as well as adults who have been incarcerated and released. The organization was the recipient of $1 million in 2019 from the state’s grant program. The nonprofit trains ex-convicts to become peer counselors on matters of substance abuse. These counselors are then sent out to talk to inmates in correctional facilities.
Samuel Nunez, the executive director of Fathers & Families, says that most of the problems his teams address can be traced to the futile war on drugs. He recalls how he was terrified as a child when the police would come and knock down the front door of his home. This overzealous policing wasn’t unique to his home, he says. Instead, it was common throughout the entire neighborhood, and it traumatized residents.
The grant program has especially been helpful to the smaller nonprofits that are close to these disproportionately affected communities. Many of these organizations gratefully admit that the grants funded by marijuana taxes and fees are the biggest funding that they have ever received, and such funding has allowed the nonprofits to confidently plan operations in the coming years.
A clear example of this game-changing effect is the nonprofit Painted Brain. The organization was the beneficiary of a grant of $900,000 over three years. This funding has allowed the group to expand its job training and placement, art programs, and mental health outreach services to people who suffer from mental health conditions.
However, this grant program has also come with a big challenge for a number of the nonprofits targeted. Many have found it difficult to wrap their minds around having to accept “marijuana money” in their fight against the use of marijuana.
The pragmatic ones have ended up reasoning that it is better for them to accept the funding and use those resources to educate young people about the dangers of using marijuana rather than waiting to deal with the problem after it has occurred. To these organizations, the dollars are coming from Californians to support Californians.
As cannabis sector players such as Pure Extracts Technologies Corp. (CSE: PULL) (OTC: PRXTF) grow and become more established, so will its beneficial impact upon the communities where it operate grow regardless of the jurisdiction where they are based.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Pure Extracts Technologies Corp. (CSE: PULL) (OTC: PRXTF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/PULL
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