Santa Barbara, California – A long-simmering legal battle in Santa Barbara County is inching toward a decision that could reshape how California regulates its vast outdoor cannabis industry. At the center of the case is a clash between wine and weed — two of the state’s most celebrated, and now colliding, agricultural economies.
Blair Pence, owner of Pence Vineyards & Winery and its associated tasting rooms in Buellton, filed a lawsuit in 2021 against Santa Barbara Westcoast Farms, a 50-acre outdoor cannabis operation located directly across Highway 246. He alleges the pungent smell from Westcoast’s cannabis crops has driven away customers, depressed revenue, and damaged property values. The vineyard’s monthly wine sales have dropped by more than half since Westcoast began operations, court filings show.
Superior Court Judge Patricia Kelly is expected to rule on July 2 whether to allow dozens of nearby homeowners and business operators within a two-mile radius of Westcoast to join the lawsuit as a formal class. If she certifies the class, it could open the door to collective claims for damages from neighbors of outdoor cannabis grows across the state…