Hundreds of cannabis cultivators in one of the most storied growing regions worldwide may now have a path to securing a long-term future in California’s licensed market.
The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) announced Oct. 17 that it certified an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in Mendocino County, removing a longstanding barrier that has prevented cultivators from transitioning from provisional to annual licensure.
To date, 476 of 535 active cultivation licenses in Mendocino County, or 89%, are still listed as provisional, according to the DCC’s licensing database. This puts the livelihoods of small farmers in the region at risk amid a quickly approaching deadline.
Under the current statutory timeline, the DCC cannot renew provisional licensure beyond Jan. 1, 2025, and those license holders must convert to annual licensure by Jan. 1, 2026, or face a forced market exit.
“Our goal has always been clear: to support those who helped build California’s cannabis industry through a licensing program that is environmentally conscious and legally sound,” DCC Director Nicole Elliott said in a release provided to Cannabis Business Times. “With the EIR certified, we’re one step closer to keeping Mendocino’s pioneering cannabis spirit alive.”
EIRs are often generated to document any environmental impacts associated with site-specific reviews that are mandated under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). These reports include detailed information on potential environmental effects, measures to mitigate those effects, and an analysis of alternatives to a project, according to the state’s Lands Commission.
These reviews can help protect sensitive species, natural waterways and air quality, among other environmental impacts from development projects. But site-specific reviews for cannabis operators to ensure CEQA compliance are often time-consuming and complicated.
In Mendocino County, the majority of licensed cannabis cultivators have been at a standstill in becoming CEQA-compliant due to local regulations. Specifically, Mendocino County officials stood up their cannabis program before California’s state licensing framework was in place and it did not align with state mandates for site-specific CEQA reviews, Origins Council Executive Director Genine Coleman previously told CBT.
