California Cannabis Cultivator Loses License for Compliance Violations

One of California’s largest cannabis cultivators had their local permit revoked earlier this week due to compliance violations. The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors is forcing CFAM Management Group to shut down operations for intentionally thwarting regulations. They suspected that the cultivation facility would likely continue to operate in bad faith.

CFAM Management Group Violations

Founded in 2016, the CFAM Management Group manages a 333,000-sq. ft. cultivation operation in the city of Nipomo. Local officials had previously approved them for mixed-light cultivation, a nursery, tissue culture lab and drying/processing facility. However, San Luis Obispo county voted to rescind the permit that was issued by the planning commission forcing them to immediately cease operations.

Their were several code and compliance violations that took place including: Uncontrolled odors of cannabis wafting into neighbors’ homes, structures on the site that were unpermitted, and processing product on-site that had not been previously approved.

CFAM attorney Mike Azat addressed the concerns of odor saying that the company had been working to address neighbor concerns, and will commit to a $200,000 equipment investment to control smells. Azat pushed back on the decision to shutdown saying it was extremely punitive, considering the company was working to comply with local residents.

Enforcing Cannabis Compliance

Supervisor Lynn Compton said the cultivation facility had a long history of emitting “nauseous smells,” building unpermitted structures and scrutinized the company, saying it only tried to fix the situation when it got caught. Supervisor Adam Hill added that, “We can’t have a community that is going to tolerate these kinds of conflicts on and on and on.”

Since the Board of Supervisors has taken action against the CFAM Management Group, these issues have alerted the California Department of Food and Agriculture. They will be conducting a separate investigation of the company and cultivation facility to uncover any illegal subletting that could result in the final blow. There will no doubt be more litigation before these violations are truly settled but it’s important for licensed cultivators to stay diligent about maintaining state and local compliance.