The County Board of Supervisors will meet Tuesday, Jan. 7 and will consider adopting the 2024 Cannabis Program Strategic Plan, which updates management strategies to reflect the county’s evolving cannabis industry.
Following the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in 2016 in California, the board established the Monterey County Cannabis Program to set out an initial list of goals and guidelines when it came to regulation, policy, enforcement, education and health.
The initial strategic plan was created in 2018, with revisions scheduled every two years to reflect industry changes. Although the 2022 revision was delayed until 2023, representatives from seven county departments and industry members met in July and August 2024 to get the process back on track.
The new plan’s goals are to help local growers transition from provisional cannabis licenses to annual licenses, as the California Department of Cannabis Control will no longer be issuing provisional permits starting in January 2025.
“We’re trying to get people to the finish line,” says Michelle House, the new manager of the County’s Cannabis Program, succeeding Joann Iwamoto. “If they are unable to do that, they will have to close down because the state will not allow them to be in business after this next year.”
Managing the cannabis industry has been tough – since the initial plan was adopted, regulations and policies have changed dramatically. The industry, once valued at $618 million in 2021 in Monterey County, dropped to $283 million the following year. Cannabis businesses in the county have faced struggles, with cultivators citing excessive taxation and regulation, compounded by falling marijuana prices. Much of these price declines have been attributed to overproduction and a lack of legal retail outlets.
According to a civil grand jury report, annual funding allocations from the county’s Cannabis Tax Fund for community services declined from a high of $23 million to $100,000 for fiscal year 2023-24.