Sonoma County Cannabis Program

Cannabis Equity Program

The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), in partnership with the Department of Cannabis Control, provides Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions. This program seeks to advance economic justice for populations and communities disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition by providing funding to local jurisdictions that are committed to promoting equity in the legal cannabis marketplace and eliminating barriers to entering the regulated cannabis industry.

GO-Biz Cannabis Equity Grants Program webpage

In April 2021, the County received a Type 1 Grant for purposes of conducting a cannabis equity assessment and developing a local equity program.

Link to the April 13, 2021 Item Materials on the Board of Supervisors Agenda Website

On November 16, 2021, the Board of Supervisors received the Cannabis Equity Assessment and approved the creation of a Local Equity Program.

Sonoma County Cannabis Equity Assessment (PDF: 6.2 MB)

Link to the November 16, 2021 Item Materials on the Board of Supervisors Agenda Website

Cannabis Program Update & Environmental Impact Report

For more information on the Cannabis Program Update & EIR, click here.

Multi-Tenant Ordinance Adopted 10/26/2021

On October 26, 2021, the Board of Supervisors adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 6356 to expire September 10, 2023 prohibiting new permits for large-scale multi-tenant commercial cannabis cultivation in unincorporated Sonoma County.

For more information, visit County Ordinances.

Determining Canopy

The Sonoma County Department of Agriculture/Weights & Measures is tasked with verifying canopy of cannabis cultivated in Sonoma County. This canopy is determined in a variety of ways. Below is a link to a comprehensive guide on how canopy is determined.

Determining Canopy - A Comprehensive Guide (PDF: 3.9 MB)

Cannabis Program Update

Published 06-11-2021

On May 18, 2021, the Board voted 5-0 to reject the Planning Commission’s recommendation to adopt the Commercial Cannabis Cultivation in Agricultural and Resource Areas Ordinance, also known as Chapter 38, which would have streamlined permitting for cannabis cultivation within Agricultural and Resource zoned parcels in Sonoma County. Read the Board Summary Report and Attachments here.

The Board of Supervisors directed staff to complete a comprehensive update of the cannabis program, which includes review and potential update to the County Code, as well as conducting an Environmental Impact Report, as expeditiously as possible.

The project launching phase focuses on collecting stakeholders' interests and concerns, which will assist in developing materials to conduct a Board Workshop on September 28, 2021, resulting in the identification of the Board's cannabis policy goals that will be the basis for the scope of the environmental impact report.

Staff anticipates the following dates as key milestones: