County cracks down on rogue cannabis farms

As Sonoma County’s cannabis industry moves into the regulated commercial market, the County is stepping up efforts to halt illegal operations.

Since January 2017, inspectors have shut down more than 600 unpermitted operations and billed over $435,797 in related fines.

The County has received 682 complaints of cannabis production on private property, according to a County report. To deal with the workload, there are currently two full-time code enforcement inspectors on staff, plus one clerical staffer, dedicated to cannabis enforcement. Six additional code inspectors are available as backup.

The County put new cannabis rules in place on June 1, 2018.

Since this date, County inspectors have responded to 21 active cannabis growing properties that had no applied for a permit applications. All were shut down and fined $10,000.