California Counties Known for Vineyards are Turning to Cannabis

After reports that regulated cannabis farms were emerging out of locales in Oregon and Canada known for wineries, it shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that areas known for vineyards in California are seeing cannabis cultivators take root. With the California marijuana market estimated to be a $4 billion dollar business sector, we can expect more astute investors and entrepreneurs to turn to cannabis. The Washington Post reports:

Marijuana is emerging among the vineyards, not as a rival to the valley’s grapes but as a high-value commodity that could help reinvigorate a fading agricultural tradition along the state’s Central Coast. Brushed by ocean breeze, cannabis has taken root, offering promise and prompting the age-old question of whether there can be too much of a good thing.

Cannabis has been fully legal in California for less than a year, and no place is generating more interest in it than the stretch of coast from Monterey to here in Santa Barbara County, where farmers now hold more marijuana cultivation licenses than in any other county.

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“We’re nearly right in between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the two big consumer hubs,” said John De Friel, whose 17-acre Raw Garden Farm and seed lab sit among cabbage patches and wineries. “We really didn’t foresee how advantageous that would turn out to be.”

While current regulations and federal prohibition remain huge obstacles to turning a significant profit, we all know that federal law will change and exporting cannabis will eventually become a reality. California and Oregon will be the biggest beneficiaries of cannabis exportation and entrepreneurs and policymakers would be wise to brand and market the industry similarly to wine. The future is uncertain, but the opportunities are there for the taking.

We look forward to discussing the current and future status of the California industry at the upcoming International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco on February 7-8, 2019. Be sure to purchase your early-bird tickets by January 18th to secure your place to learn the latest and network with top investors and entrepreneurs from the Golden State and around the world.