Santa Barbara County is suiting up to appeal an October 29 appellate court ruling that cannabis is illegal in California — taking it up with the California Supreme Court instead. The ruling emerged from a lawsuit filed by Lompoc property owner JCCrandall LLC, who sued the county in 2021 over a Board of Supervisors decision that allowed cannabis to be transported through her property. The appellate court ruled that this violated federal drug regulations and property easements.
The decision was set to be published and used as legal precedent across the state prior to the county's notice of appeal.
"If cannabis is going to touch your property, you need to consent to it," said Ernest Guadiana, JCCrandall's attorney. According to the initial court filing, Janna Caron Crandall, who manages JCCrandall LLC, wasn't even asked.
In 2019, Santa Rita Holdings applied for a conditional-use permit from Santa Barbara County to cultivate cannabis on 2.54 acres of land east of Lompoc leased from Kim Hughes. The Hughes property lies adjacent to the Crandall property with a private access road connecting the two. The road — whose usage terms were laid out in an easement between property owners in 1998 — is the only means of accessing the Hughes property.
Read more at Santa Barbara Independent