Publication
Final Report to DCC – Licensed and Unlicensed Cultivation Across Ban and Permit Jurisdictions
2026
Summary
This project aimed to: a) provide the first empirical assessments of unlicensed production amounts and geography over time; b) identify what policies are correlated with growth or diminution of unlicensed cultivation; c) estimate unlicensed market product, including leakage from the licensed to unlicensed market; and d) test whether cultivation bans or permits are more effective at preventing unlicensed cultivation and environmental harms. It does so through a mixed method approach involving a first-in-kind mapping approach (using SWRCB's Cannavision platform), license data, consumer surveys, point-of-sale, supply chain and pricing data, interviews, observations, and secondary material research.
Final Report to DCC – Licensed and Unlicensed Cultivation Across Ban and Permit Jurisdictions
This project, entitled “Licensed and Unlicensed Production Across Ban and Permit Jurisdictions,” aimed to assess the evolution of unlicensed cannabis cultivation since legalization.
Abstract
This project aimed to: a) provide the first empirical assessments of unlicensed production amounts and geography over time; b) identify what policies are correlated with growth or diminution of unlicensed cultivation; c) estimate unlicensed market product, including leakage from the licensed to unlicensed market; and d) test whether cultivation bans or permits are more effective at preventing unlicensed cultivation and environmental harms. It does so through a mixed method approach involving a first-in-kind mapping approach (using SWRCB's Cannavision platform), license data, consumer surveys, point-of-sale, supply chain and pricing data, interviews, observations, and secondary material research.