California cities and counties have started the new year with changes to their cannabis rules and plans, and an expansion of retail access. This month, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved a revised Cannabis Strategic Plan, while the Board of Supervisors of Tulare County unanimously passed an amendment to their cannabis ordinance to allow for the immediate imposition of administrative fines for unlicensed cannabis activities. The City of Antioch has welcomed a new retail shop as part of that city’s downtown revitalization efforts, and just this week the Jackson Square neighborhood of San Francisco has seen the opening of a new location for a local cannabis retailer. In Santa Barbara County, newly elected supervisors are leading what is being called “a new chapter” in local cannabis industry regulation by requiring the installation of state-of-the art carbon filtration technology at each of the cannabis cultivation facilities in the county. With AB 1775 (the cannabis cafe law) having gone into effect on January 1, National City is poised to welcome a cannabis lounge, the first in San Diego County, and the City of West Hollywood has seen established cannabis lounges expand services to include nonalcoholic drinks and non-cannabis food, like cappuccinos and pastries. The Lake County Board of Supervisors received recommendations from its Cannabis Task Force this month, which also saw the City of Manteca welcome the opening of a cannabis retailer. Up and down the state, counties and cities in California have begun 2025 with commercial cannabis in their sights, and expanded retail within their jurisdictional limits.
