LA Gears Up for Legal Weed

LA Gears Up for Legal Weed

Under new state law, cannabis cultivators are banned from building new greenhouses unless they are built in the footprint of old ones, which are “getting a second life,” according to a greenhouse manager. 

Play Video

California’s Salinas Valley is referred to as the “salad bowl of the nation,” best described in iconic pages when John Steinbeck, American author and son of the Monterey County community, put pen to paper in most of his classic writings.

It’s here in this region of sprawling fields about 100 miles south of San Francisco where Japanese immigrants found their American dream after World War II in the cut flowers business, evident even today.

“A lot of these houses are Japanese-style houses,” said Alicia, a cannabis properties realtor.

With California’s law legalizing marijuana poised to go into effect next year, Salinas enters a new chapter in its agricultural history. It could become the cannabis capital of the state.

Alicia agreed to show us around the valley on the condition we don’t share her last name. She specializes in the new green that’s growing here, pointing out farms she says are now cannabis farms.

“Look. Barbed wires, cameras,” she said.

Alicia works to sell, buy or manage what used to be properties housing the booming flower market, properties that have since fallen apart due to various free trade agreements over the years.

She says ever since California legalized marijuana, there’s new life breathing into the valley and sucking dry the idea of continuing with the cut flowers business, when owners can sell their properties for millions.

“It wouldn’t make sense to grow flowers, you know, at $5 million,” she said.

Under new California law, cannabis cultivators are banned from building new greenhouses, unless they are built in the footprint of old ones. So any “green” house in the state has the potential to evolve into a “grow” house.

“California cannabis is its own brand, no different than California wine or anything else,” Michael Williamson, the director of operations at Harborside, a leading cannabis grower and distributor in Northern California.

He says his hairnet, white jumpsuit and gloves are a way to keep the product pure and free from human interaction.

“When you look at our product and our plants, it’s really not that different than a lot of the cut flowers market,” he said. “Which makes this valley kind of the potential to be the Sonoma Valley of cannabis.”

Williamson wouldn’t say how much Harborside makes on its product, adding that for now, it’s grown solely for medical purposes.

He said the company is eyeing Los Angeles for what’s to come.

“Our moral compass is always the same,” he said. “We want to create a safe, consistent and hopefully potent cannabis.”

Growers in Monterey County say they take pride in more than just their product, but also what the industry is doing for the local workforce: the general contractors, green house manufacturers, security companies, fence installers, security camera installers and providers.

“We feel that cannabis could be a $1 billion crop within the next 24 months in Monterey County,” said Mike Bitar, the cofounder of Grupo Flor, a company that’s been actively seeking out empty greenhouses to manage. “These greenhouses are getting a second life. Right now there are no empty greenhouses in Monterey County. They’ve all either been leased up or purchased in the last six months.”

The numbers are already massive.

According to Arcview market research, a company specializing in the marijuana market, California accounted for 31 percent of the legal cannabis market in the U.S. last year. Locally that’s only for medical use. Compare that with Colorado at 19 percent and Washington at 11 percent, where marijuana is legal for recreational use.

“This industry has grown by leaps and bounds,” said Daniel Yi, a spokesman for Medmen, a cannabis management and investment firm based in Los Angeles. The company has a cultivation site in Sun Valley and also runs a dispensary in West Hollywood.

“LA plays a huge role in terms of what we’ve learned over 20 years of regulation, what we’ve learned in techniques and cultivation. We have a lot of experience and a lot of demand,” he said.

Yi says research is showing as states legalize marijuana for recreational use, more and more users are opting against the flowery buds for smoking and turning to products that come from extracting the oils from pot plants.

“There are edibles, there are extracts, there are vape pens,” he said.

And with much of the state’s demand coming from LA, it leaves the smaller towns up north with dreams of what that could do for them.

“It’ll be a pretty phenomenal crop going to LA, I’m sure, because their numbers are big,” said Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter, adding his city is actively working to become a model for others in how to regulate the industry.

“We have to embrace it because it’s coming.”

For many, though, it’s been here for decades.

“Our industry has been testing cannabis, has been labeling cannabis and has been concerned to consumer safety long before the California legislature woke to this monster,” said Salinas attorney Gavin Kogan who made cannabis law a specialty.

But there’s one thing that’s keeping cannabis from growing greener across the country: the stigma of the drug the feds still say is illegal.

“We’re chipping away at it,” Yi said.

Michael is now the Cheif Operating Officer of Catalyst BC and has consulted on numerious cannabis cultivation facilities.

Source: NBC Los Angeles     By John Cádiz Klemack   

Additional Resources

Consulting Services For Cannabis, Hemp, Psilocybin, and Natural Medicine

Testimonials and Public Relations

Latest Articles

  • Open a Cannabis Consumption Lounge in New Jersey: Getting Started Guide
    New Jersey’s adult-use law allows “cannabis consumption areas,” but only as an endorsement to existing licenses. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) decided not to create a new license class; instead, licensed Class 5 retailers (or permitted medical dispensaries) can apply for a Consumption Area Endorsement to their facility. This means only approved dispensaries (currently still coming online in NJ) can add a 21+ onsite use room. Applications for consumption area endorsements opened in January 2025.
  • Open a Cannabis Lounge in New Mexico: Licensing & Compliance Guide
    New Mexico’s Cannabis Regulation Act (2021) explicitly authorizes On-Site Consumption Area licenses (often called “consumption lounge” permits) under the NM Cannabis Control Division (CCD). The CCD issues two types of permits: Type I (non-smoking, edibles/vapor) and Type II (smoking allowed). A consumption area license lets a venue legally serve non-infused snacks/beverages and allow consumption of cannabis products by patrons age 21+. These can be standalone lounges or add-ons to other licensees (e.g. a dispensary or restaurant that obtains a consumption license).
  • New York Cannabis Lounge License: Guide to Compliance and Success
    New York State law provides for adult-use on-site consumption licenses under the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). As of 2025, New York is still in the early stages of issuing these licenses; only a handful of trial licenses have been granted. The Cannabis Law caps investment (no person can hold more than 3 consumption licenses) and prohibits vertical integration: lounge licensees cannot also hold dispensary, cultivation, or processor licenses. This was done to ensure lounges operate solely as consumption venues, not as sales outlets. Learn how to navigate the rules to successfully apply for your lounge license.
  • U.S. Virgin Islands Cannabis Consumption Lounge Getting Started Guide
    The U.S. Virgin Islands legalized adult-use cannabis in 2023, and its regulators have explicitly created consumption lounge permits. Under the Virgin Islands Cannabis Regulatory Advisory Board’s rules (approved April 2024), a qualified operator can obtain an Adult-Use Lounge Permit. This permit allows on-site cannabis consumption by adults 21+ in a designated area. Unlike many states, the USVI permits both smoking and non-smoking lounges, provided you choose the correct permit type.
  • Nevada Cannabis Lounge License Guide: What You Need to Know
    Nevada has enthusiastically embraced consumption lounges. In 2021, Governor Sisolak signed AB 341 authorizing the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) to license cannabis consumption lounges. After extensive stakeholder work, the CCB approved final regulations in late 2023. Lounges are split into two types: Retail Lounges (operated by licensed dispensaries or microbusinesses) and Independent Lounges (standalone sites).
  • Are Missouri Cannabis Lounges Legal? Here’s What Entrepreneurs Need to Know
    Missouri’s adult-use legalization (Amendment 3, 2022) did not establish any state license for cannabis lounges. Consequently, there is no state-regulated consumption lounge for recreational cannabis at this time. Instead, an underground network of private, membership-only clubs has emerged.

Explore Our Articles

Business Strategy cannabis applications Cannabis Bar Cannabis Business Optmization Cannabis Business Services cannabis careers Cannabis Compliance Cannabis Consumption Cannabis Consumption Bar Cannabis Inventory Management Systems cannabis jobs Cannabis Legalization cannabis licensing Cannabis Lounge cannabis marketing Cannabis Operational Procedures cannabis outreach Cannabis Regulations Cannabis Security Cannabis Software Cannabis Startup Cannabis Suppliers Cannabis Supply Chain Cannabis Technology Colorado controlled environment agriculture Cultivation cultivation facility Dispensary Design facility design Financial Planning Legal Update Legislation Medical Cannabis Minnesota Natural Medicine Nebraska New York Odor Control Oregon Psilocybin Psychedelics Recreational Cannabis Solventless Extraction Tribal Cannabis Licensing

Scroll to Top