Belly up to the bud bar, Sonoma! That could be a new thing if the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors moves ahead with its Cannabis Program update, which would include allowing “consumption lounges,” akin to alcohol-serving bars, where cannabis users can purchase and consume product on site.
The update, advanced via a straw vote by the supervisors Oct. 28, is intended to refine the county’s cannabis permitting framework and environmental policies, aligning land use and regulatory standards so cannabis is treated more consistently by the county with comparable non-cannabis activities.
Key changes include allowing most supply chain uses in industrial and commercial areas, county officials said in an announcement of the updates. In agricultural areas, the board plans to “reclassify cannabis as a ‘controlled’ agricultural crop with right to farm protections and allowances for more vertical integration at cannabis farms, which will further integrate cannabis into the agricultural landscape of the county and provide additional business opportunities and flexibility.”…