Monterey County to enforce state wide ban on cannabis ads along highways

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION)

Beginning March 1st, the Monterey County District Attorney's office will begin enforcement of a state wide prohibition of cannabis billboards and advertising along Highway 1 and 101.

In January, the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court entered a decision to reassert regulations banning these types of ads along California interstate highways and state highways, as part of the regulations of Proposition 64 passed in 2016, which legalized the sale of recreational cannabis.

Cannabis companies that currently have billboards along Highway 1 and the 101 will have to start taking them down in just a few weeks.

Grupo Flor CEO Gavin Kogan says this doesn't help eliminate the stereotype associated with cannabis.

“I think the decision’s unfortunate because it blurs the line between legal and illegal cannabis, this decision has the opposite effect of what was intended because what it really does is encourages further black market activity," says Kogan.

Deputy District Attorney Greg Peterson, the lead prosecutor for the cannabis enforcement unit, says the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) promulgated regulations that permitted billboard advertisements along the highway.

“When these cannabis companies actually put these billboards up, they were doing it in compliance with existing regulations, however, this recent decision overturned those regulations and they said that the statutes that are in place invalidate those regulations," says Peterson.

Deputy District Attorney Peterson says the enforcement more than anything is about minimizing unfair competition between cannabis companies.

“If a cannabis company is advertising along a state highway and they’re doing so in violation of state law, they’re deriving significant benefit and significant advantage over those other cannabis companies which are not doing so," says Peterson.

Meanwhile, Kogan explains the challenges that come along with already having advertisements along the highway for cannabis businesses, such as long billboard contracts.

“To obtain a billboard involves quite a bit of lobbying with the companies that run them and they’re not always open, this will create some frustration for us because billboard are not easy to get," says Kogan.

Over the past year, millions in cannabis tax revenue funds within Monterey County provided economic relief during the pandemic.

Kogan says although he will be compliant with regulations, he now faces at least tens of thousands of dollars in losses.

Kogan says he hopes to see new laws allowing the return of cannabis advertising in the next year.

The Monterey County District Attorney's office says change would have to come from a legislative level or a proposition.

Any companies not in compliance could be ordered by the courts to take their ads down or face civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day that the signs are up.

Deputy District Attorney Peterson says the purpose of enforcement is not to go after cannabis companies, but to simply follow state law.