Planning commissioners unanimously back cannabis lounge ordinance, sending it to supervisors
The Sept. 30 vote moves Monterey County closer to letting its eight retail shops host on-site consumption, a step the cannabis industry has sought for more than four years.
The Monterey County Planning Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday, Sept. 30, to recommend a cannabis consumption venue ordinance to the Board of Supervisors, moving the county closer to allowing on-site cannabis consumption at retail locations in unincorporated areas.
The recommendation advances a request the cannabis industry has made for more than four years, framed as a lifeline for a struggling sector. County cannabis tax revenue collapsed from $20 million in 2021 to $3 million in 2024, according to figures cited by the Monterey County Weekly.
“This is a small step and it’s been a long time coming,” Commissioner Martha Diehl said at the Sept. 30 meeting.
No date has yet been set for when the ordinance will go before the Board of Supervisors.
The commission’s recommendation includes tying consumption-venue hours to state law so the county’s language can change if state requirements change; adding responsible-consumption language at venues in response to concerns about impaired driving; and asking staff to assess whether the ordinance can distinguish vaporization from combustion, since the two byproducts may produce different odors and follow different permitting processes.
County staff and commissioners studied consumption lounge regulations in other California jurisdictions, including San Francisco, West Hollywood, and National City, as well as Santa Cruz County.
Eight retail locations operate in the county’s unincorporated areas: Smoke Stacks in Moss Landing; One Plant in Castroville; White Fire in Prunedale; One Plant and Cali Love in Salinas; Santa Cruz Naturals in Pajaro; and Synchronicity Holistic and Big Sur Canna Botanicals in Carmel.
The issue has a long arc. The industry first brought the request to the county about four years ago, and the Board of Supervisors directed staff in fall 2025 to prepare recommendations. The Planning Commission hosted a workshop on Feb. 25 to work through the research and concerns, with smoke, odor, public safety, ventilation, and how to measure intoxication topping the list.
Supervisors have signaled interest in consumption lounges before: in 2024 the board directed staff to begin drafting ordinance changes that could bring lounges to the county, KION reported at the time.
At the February workshop, commissioners compared potential lounges to cigar lounges and bars, and discussed hours of operation, on-site food sales, and live entertainment. Planning Department management specialist Mike Novo presented options ranging from streamlined approval to complete prohibition and supported the streamlined option, which would let retailers obtain county staff approval for indoor consumption with additional permitting required for outdoor consumption.
“It gives people an opportunity to have somewhere to go,” said Aram Stoney, co-founder of Big Sur Canna Botanicals. “I’ve seen people just out in the parking lot or over on a bench somewhere. This isn’t going to stop that completely, but it does give people that chance. It also opens up the door for other sources of revenue for an already struggling industry.”
Diehl said the point is to bring existing behavior under rules the county can manage. “I really urge people to remember that we’re not creating a new thing. We’re trying to provide a framework for something that’s currently occurring to make it possible to better manage this,” Diehl said. “I certainly hope that we’d be open to some extension of this in the future that might allow other hospitality venues to provide this opportunity, particularly for visitors and guests, so we can get it out of our public spaces.”
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