While some wineries are competing with cannabis farmers for land, water, labor, and market share, others are embracing the rising legality of cannabis, even planting cannabis adjacent to or instead of vineyards. For those pursuing this route, differences in regulatory schemes between these two crops is complicated. Over the past decade, tensions between wine and cannabis growers in traditional California wine country mounted as some wineries alleged that cannabis cultivation lacked the comprehensive regulation governing winegrowing, with the potential to negatively affect the region. After the 2016 passing of California Proposition 64, localities governed via a complicated patchwork of temporary licenses, creating a disjointed process without stable oversight for this “budding” industry. For example, Santa Barbara County supervisors provided blanket approval and licenses for farmers who claimed that they were growing medicinal cannabis without requiring the submission of any evidentiary or documentary proof to support these farmers’ claims. This led to an explosion of cannabis growth in the region despite alleged environmental risks and concerns to the region’s established agricultural (predominately wine-growing) ecosystem.
Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news, 11/03/2021 22:00:00