How Cannabis Might Affect the Floral Industry in California
August 24, 2017 
With the passage of Proposition 64, passed by the California state legislature in November 2016, cannabis speculators have invaded California at a speed similar to whiteflies on gerberas. Proposition 64 legalizes adult recreational use of marijuana and includes provisions for cultivation, provided local jurisdictions sign off. In passing the law, California joined the ranks of eight states and Washington, D.C., that have legalized recreational marijuana.
In Colorado, Massachusetts, and Oregon, cannabis cultivation has fueled a real estate boom in dilapidated warehouses, unused factories, and abandoned self-storage operations, the kinds of properties that easily retrofit to growing facilities. Despite the multi-million dollar renovation price, cannabis growers like these spaces because they’re private, easy to secure, and adapt readily to climate control. But flower farmers know that energy costs quickly add up in enclosed production settings, and even with careful retrofits, the original structures weren’t meant for high humidity, which can lead to expensive mold remediation.
According to an article posted on the Society of American Florists’ (SAF) Floral Industry News website, that’s where California comes in. Cannabis growers and their investors are eyeing the Golden State’s agriculturally zoned land, including places such as the Salinas Valley.
In a land management effort aimed at breathing fresh life into abandoned flower farms while curtailing the number of new construction permits for cannabis operations, Monterey County passed an ordinance that cannabis cultivation can occur solely in existing greenhouses on existing farmland. Price per acre has doubled over the course of the last year, according to commercial broker Keller Williams Realty. In 2015, a 10-acre parcel with greenhouses listed for $2.5 million; in 2017, the same parcel lists at $5 million.
On the face of it, marijuana could take a bite out of flower production acreage.
“Anyone with a structure like a greenhouse is in a good position to sell to a cannabis group,” said Kasey Cronquist, CEO of the California Cut Flower Commission. His group collects floral sales reports on a quarterly basis. So far, they haven’t seen significant changes in the numbers.
Read the complete SAF article here.
Subscribe to eNewsletter
