Recent cannabis-industry tax relief from the County of Sonoma is offset by a July 1 increase in the state excise tax.
sneezing, itching, nasal congestion and irritation, drowsiness, moderate skin and eye irritations).” The report concluded, “Therefore, with reliance on data and analysis based on scientific evidence, the general public would not experience adverse health effects due to exposure to beta myrcene emissions from an outdoor cannabis cultivation site that could be allowed under the proposed Cannabis Program Update.” Aside from the issue of health effects, there’s no doubt the odor is offensive to some. Sonoma County’s interim health officer noted, “While current research doesn't definitively show that beta-myrcene or other chemicals from a cannabis farm are harmful to nearby residents, the odor can certainly be bothersome to neighbors, and that's an important consideration.” The study, which will guide the development of a revised cannabis ordinance, proposes mitigation measures to offset the odor. The report calls for structures containing cannabis to be equipped with filtration and ventilation systems to control odors, humidity and mold, except for structures containing only prepackaged cannabis products. “The air filtration systems are to be sufficient to prevent internal odors from being emitted externally and must rely on activated carbon filtration, negative ion generation, ozone generation, or other odor control mechanisms demonstrated to achieve the same odor reductions so that odors are not detectable outside the structure,” according to the report. Another concern expressed by the Neighborhood Coalition is aesthetic. “Don’t take up our ag land and mess up our scenic corridors with white plastic hoop houses everywhere,” Harrison says, about the covered structures for growing plants. The draft environmental impact report proposes as mitigation that if a hoop house is visible from a public vantage point, any covering must be non-reflective; weed
block materials shall be made of non-reflective and non-plastic materials; and installation of solid fencing, such as wood, masonry and chain link covered with privacy cloth, is prohibited within County-designated scenic landscapes, scenic corridors and community separators. The draft environmental impact report contains a number of changes the county is proposing to its cannabis program. The report proposes making operational and zoning changes and removing caps on the number of businesses that can operate in the unincorporated area of the county. Is a strong, local cannabis industry viable? One of the biggest updates being considered would be designating cannabis as "controlled agriculture," rather than a controlled substance, which would allow for expanded land use and other regulatory relaxations. Sonoma County is contemplating the changes in hopes of stabilizing the industry, though by now it seems likely that the vast riches from cannabis tax revenue that municipalities were envisioning when it became legal in California will never materialize. Given the weight of regulations, supply glut, taxes, competition and resistance from neighbors, it’s hard not to wonder whether the Sonoma County cannabis industry will collapse under the weight of all the obstacles. The number of cultivators has plummeted from 155 in May 2023 to 66. One relatively positive note seems to be that this fiscal year’s “taxable canopy,” or cannabis crop, is similar to that of the fiscal year 2023-24, McCall Miller, the county’s cannabis program coordinator, said in an April report to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. Miller said this suggests that the market is stabilizing. Outdoor cultivation is about the same as last year at around 13 acres in unincorporated Sonoma County. Eyler says, “I wouldn’t say it’s a dying industry, because the
July 2025
NorthBaybiz 25
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