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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has reinstated a civil rights lawsuit against Humboldt County, California, that challenges the county’s practices in imposing punitive daily fines. It is the first time a federal appellate court has weighed in on local government’s enforcement of code violations involving cannabis farms.
The Court of Appeal decision
The decision, in Thomas v. County of Humboldt, comes after years of complaints by cannabis cultivators that local governments impose unfair fines for technical violations at licensed farms. That counties and municipalities have adopted and are enforcing large fines involving licensed properties is one of many reasons why increasing numbers of farms have given up their licenses and shut down completely or returned to the illicit market. This is hurting state efforts to bolster the legal market and suppress the illicit market for cannabis.
Lessons for industry and regulators
A takeaway from the decision is that local governments need to keep the goal of remediation in mind in establishing penalties, must be more reasonable in allowing cultivators to fix violations, and more flexible in decisions to impose fines and settling disputes. The decision should motivate county and city attorneys, and cannabis licensees and
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