Policy

Cannabis policy intersects all of our work.

Our methods cross disciplines to uncover the social and ecological impacts of policy decisions. Our findings show that conflicts between local, state and federal regulation can lead to unintended outcomes and missed opportunities. Our recommendations cut through the complexity to address the needs of people and the environment.

What we’ve learned

Farmers encounter significant barriers to licensing, leading many to decide to never seek a license. These barriers significantly impact smaller farmers or those with fewer resources. This can Intensify industrial consolidation.
Bodwitch 2021
California cannabis growers characterized legalization as harmful to their businesses and communities. They describe a process that excludes small growers, contributes to an increase in black market sales, and undermines economies of rural communities.
Bodwitch et al. 2019
Larger farms are more likely to apply for permits. Permitted cannabis farms tend to be larger, newer, and sited in areas with lower slopes and stream densities. In the years prior to legalization farm size expanded significantly in Humboldt County.
Schwab et al. 2019
Cannabis bans and “enforcement first” approaches undermine regulatory goals and deepen disparities. Re-criminalizing cannabis cultivation undermines state-level policies and programs that promote social equity and protect the environment.
Polson and Petersen-Rockney 2019
Legalization of cannabis production can paradoxically disrupt supportive, collective systems of cultivation that formed during prohibition. Policies that recognize and build from “commoning” practices can help sustain collective benefits.
Polson and Bodwitch 2021
Increases in California’s budget for cannabis regulatory programs appear inadequate relative to the pressures of cannabis agriculture on the environment.
Butsic et al. 2018

Science and Policy Briefs

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NEW! Water Use: Cannabis in Context

After reviewing data from Humboldt and Mendocino County watersheds, researchers find that keeping cannabis farms in the licensed market is key for preventing impacts to streams.

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Outcomes of Local Cannabis Cultivation Bans on California Communities

Local commercial cannabis cultivation bans add administrative cost and lead to economic and social inequities.

Researchers

Michael Polson

Director

Associate Research Scientist

Hekia Bodwitch

Researcher

Postdoctoral Fellow

Phoebe Parker-Shames

Researcher

Wildlife Ecologist

Christopher Dillis

Researcher

Postdoctoral Reseacher

Margiana Petersen-Rockney

Postdoctoral Researcher

Laura Herrera

Outreach & Digital Communications

Public interest researcher and cannabis consultant

Jennifer Carah

Researcher

Senior Scientist

Jeff Vance Martin

Researcher

Research Social Scientist

Christy Getz

Researcher

Associate Cooperative Extension Specialist

Genoa Starrs

Researcher

Geographic Information System Programmer

Seth LaRosa

Researcher

PhD Candidate

Jeremy Sorgen

Researcher

Assistant Research Professor

Mary Power

Researcher

Professor, Integrative Biology and Faculty Manager, Angelo Coast Range Reserve

Stephanie Carlson

Researcher

Professor and A.S. Leopold Chair in Wildlife Biology

Nathan Sayre

Researcher

Faculty

Justin Brashares

Researcher

Professor of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation

Joanna Hossack

Cannabis Law Specialist

Attorney

Van Butsic

Researcher

Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist and Adjunct Professor

Ted Grantham

Researcher

Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension

Eric Biber

Researcher

Edward C. Halbach, Jr. Professor of Law

Related Publications

2023

Local Regulation of Cannabis in California

Biber, E., Moira O’Neill, M., de Genova, H., Froehlich, D., Hossack, J., Park, T.

Social Science Research Network

Photo of three white, uniformed male military officers and a black man huddled around a cannabis plant in a pine forest.

2023

Interim Report: Cannabis Bans, Local Control and the Effects and Efficacy of Proposition 64

Getz, C., Petersen-Rockney, M., Polson, M.

photograph of a circular lined pond, full of water, on a forested slope

2023

Water demands of permitted and unpermitted cannabis cultivation in Northern California

Dillis, C., Butsic, V., Georgakakos, P., Portugal, E., Grantham, T.

Environmental Research Communications

Two photographs of cannabis. On the left, a densely planted field where budding live plants are covered by a green plastic mesh. On the right, an indoor storage space with bagged cannabis flower.

2023

Smaller Cultivation & California Cannabis Policy: Recommendations for a Multi-Scale Cultivation Sector

Polson, M., Bodwitch, H., Corva, D., Getz, C., Laudati, A., Petersen-Rockney, M., Runsten, D., Taylor, K.

2023

After legalization: Cannabis, environmental compliance, and agricultural futures

Polson, M., Bodwitch, H., Biber, E., Butsic, V., Grantham, T.

Land Use Policy

2022

Policy Findings & Recommendations Regarding California Cannabis: Farming, Regulation and the Environment

Polson, M., Butsic, V., Dillis, C., de Genova, H., Grantham, T., Herrera, L.R., Hossack, J., Laudati, A., Martin, J.V., Parker-Shames, P., Petersen-Rockney, M., Sorgen, J., Starrs, G.