The experience of transitioning pear and apple orchards to wine grapes — the current paradigm of cash crop transition in this region — stands to be a useful parallel for policymakers when considering the range of possible changes that may occur within the landscape, community and economy as the potential result of further transitioning farmland to growing cannabis. Broader changes that resulted from the precedent of grapes, whether positive or negative, may stand to be a sobering example to consider for policymakers hoping primarily for economic gains to be had from expanded cannabis cultivation. As several interviewees mentioned, cannabis does not fall under Right to Farm laws, or laws that protect the right to conduct standard agricultural practices in a community. This highlights a key shortcoming of the cannabis and wine grapes analogy, as the expansion of the legal cannabis industry is not afforded the same rights as the expansion of wine grapes in an agricultural community. Nonetheless, in some areas legalization of recreational cannabis may bring with it an overhauling of the current landscape of food production, just as wine grapes did. The divide that some interviewees noted between wine producers and other food producers perhaps mirrors the divide between cannabis producers and non-cannabis producers. Interestingly, wine producers — and, as previously mentioned, the alcohol industry in general — have already made various commercial connections with cannabis producers, with collaborations ranging from a “wine and weed” conference in Sonoma in summer 2017 to cannabis-infused beer and wine. Newly developed regulations surrounding cannabis cultivation will have great significance for food producers in these counties. As they are refined,cannabis grow system it is important that policymakers continue to involve the agricultural community and intentionally incorporate their perspectives.

This should be done through outreach with individuals, organizations and food policy councils to ensure that new regulations for cannabis are not unintentionally spilling over into agriculture or otherwise compromising the diversity of producers in these counties. The interviews reported here establish a baseline knowledge of how legalized recreational cannabis intersects with agricultural communities. Future research could focus on investigating land sale and ownership data to see what land types are targeted by which type of investors in each county, and to then begin to determine what types of outcomes might be associated with these different types of investors. Meanwhile, the land situation during this transition period is fluid. In Humboldt County, after the end of the study reported here, a recent town hall meeting highlighted the economic crisis facing the community with the decline of the price of cannabis. Community members reported that property values had dropped and that large, and not small, cannabis businesses had generally been receiving the bulk of new permits . In addition to more research, a renewed effort might be made to prioritize support for farm succession planning and explore creative approaches to transitioning key pieces of farmland to the next generation of farmers who identify with the non-cannabis community. Such an initiative could bolster efforts to maintain diverse local food systems in Humboldt, Mendocino and Sonoma counties.As of February 2022, 19 states and Washington, DC, had voted to legalize recreational cannabis use in the US,1 although the US federal government classifies cannabis as a Schedule I substance with high abuse potential and no approved medical purpose despite therapeutic evidence.Canada legalized cannabis nationally in 2018,8 establishing a market based on advice from a task force including government, health, research, legal, law enforcement, and non–cannabis business representatives.

Input was solicited from advocacy organizations and cannabis companies,the latter of which seek reduced taxes and regulations.10 Research on the effects of recreational cannabis legalization on cannabis use has been inconclusive, with studies reporting different increases and decreases in consumption after legalization.One study12 found that cannabis use increased in the past year and past month among populations of Asian, Hispanic, Native American, non-Hispanic White, and Pacific Islander race and ethnicity and among individuals reporting multiple races and ethnicities who were aged 21 to 30 years in states that had legalized medical and recreational cannabis. The study found no changes in cannabis use by non-Hispanic Black individuals or for any racial or ethnic demographic group aged 12 to 20 years.Another study of cannabis consumption in Canada found increased prevalence of cannabis use among middle-aged and older adults after recreational legalization.Federal surveys conducted in 2020 by their respective governments found that 17.9% of individuals 12 years or older in the US14 and 27% of persons 16 years or older in Canada consumed cannabis in the past 12 months.Further cannabis normalization could increase consumption as well as expand the reach and strength of companies selling cannabis products. Corporate social responsibility constitutes a company’s philanthropic, ethical, and economic activities beyond profit seeking, including mitigating environmental and societal impacts.Corporate social responsibility promotes brands and secures government goodwill that protects business interests. Controversial industries, including the tobacco industry, use CSR to bolster reputations burdened by core stigma, a term indicating that products, conduct, or customers have a negative social impact. Tobacco industry CSR activities ostensibly address harms caused by its products but blame consumers and present its programs as alternatives to regulation. 

That industry’s efforts include “youth smoking prevention” programs with forbidden fruit messaging, smokers’ rights groups that resist regulation, and pharmaceuticalization, which reoriented business toward nicotine replacement therapy. The World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an international treaty adopted in 2003 to steer countries’ tobacco control programming, mitigate the global tobacco epidemic, and curb the tobacco industry’s interference in regulation, defines CSR as a form of advertising. As legal cannabis sales expand to new jurisdictions, the cannabis industry may seek to use CSR to gain legitimacy, secure approval, recruit allies, access government, and influence policy as it attempts to expand its customer base and legal markets. Past research on this question is limited: searches of academic databases found only 1 book chapter covering the CSR activities conducted by 2 cannabis companies operating in Colorado and 3 articles addressing CSR practices by cannabis companies, all of which stated that further research was needed. Comparison of cannabis companies’ CSR practices with those of the tobacco industry is useful because we can assess commonalities and differences between the practices of a nascent industry exiting illegality and a long-established sector with a product that has historically been legal. The recent legalization of cannabis in Canada and patchwork legalization of cannabis in 18 states in the US has led to the appearance of multiple smaller businesses alongside the multinational corporations in this sector. Owing to differences in the legality of cannabis within the US, cannabis businesses face varying market regulations. The prior criminalization of cannabis and resulting disparate racial and social harms has generated attention regarding how cannabis companies address diversity, equity, and inclusion, potentially influencing the focus of its CSR practices relative to the tobacco industry. We reviewed cannabis CSR activities in the US and Canada between January 1, 2012, when Colorado first legalized recreational cannabis, and December 31, 2021. We sought to determine whether cannabis companies have CSR practices similar to those of the tobacco industry because both sell substances that are recreationally consumed and harmful to public health with comparable consumption modes .For this qualitative study, we reviewed documents related to the CSR activities of cannabis companies between 2012 and 2021 using established methods from previous research of the tobacco, alcohol, and food16 industries. We sampled the 10 largest cannabis companies by market capitalization as of January 2021 identified by Nasdaq, an electronic securities trading market covering the US, Canada, and Europe. We excluded 1 pharmaceutical company making cannabis derived treatments and not involved with recreational markets, leaving 9 companies in our sample. Our data collection, coding, analysis, and writing process followed the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research reporting guideline. Our approach also relied on existing protocols for searching and analyzing industry documents. Because this study did not involve human subjects, informed consent was not applicable. This research was approved by the University of California, San Francisco, Institutional Review Board. Information regarding CSR activities was collected from August 1 through December 31, 2021, through systematic searches of cannabis company websites and Nexis Uni articles written in English. Websites were reviewed for CSR activities, including events, sponsorships, nonprofit partnerships, education initiatives, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, donations, and sales drives. Information on company websites was image captured and downloaded in PDF form. We searched Nexis Uni to find press releases and news coverage of cannabis companies’ CSR activities. Search terms included company names combined with the keywords corporate social responsibility, social equity, and donate. Subsequent snowball searches, a process in which key terms are identified in initial searches to find additional information, was used with brand and program names identified in initial searches. Philanthropic activities were included even if not labeled CSR. We identified 153 unique news articles, press releases,flood table and Web pages that are described below. We performed a content analysis to categorize evidence thematically, similar to studies used previously to analyze tobacco and pharmaceutical industry activities. One author with experience coding tobacco industry documents created a master file that summarized each cannabis company’s CSR activities provided in each document. Themes were developed inductively through iterative coding and categorization of language and informational patterns found in collected materials.

Corporate social responsibility activities with language and foci designed to mitigate cannabis prohibition harms were grouped into a theme category, as were activities with language and foci regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion; charitable contributions; therapeutic and medical cannabis access promotion; and mitigation of cannabis industry harms. We found that cannabis companies used CSR practices similarly to tobacco companies, claiming they voluntarily self-regulated by limiting youth access, making charitable contributions, and supporting advocacy organizations. We categorized activities under these classifications. When a document’s relevance or categorization was questioned, it was discussed by 2 authors until agreement was reached.Seven companies claimed their CSR activities addressed harms from past cannabis prohibition . Green Thumb Industries Inc and Cresco Labs Inc created business incubators and licensing assistance programs for members of racial and ethnic minority populations and communities harmed by cannabis prohibition. The License Education Assistance Program, launched by Green Thumb Industries Inc in 2019, reoriented programming to support 3 social equity license applicants in Illinois102 in August 2021. The Social Equity and Education Development business incubator developed by Cresco Labs Inc held 13 events between 2019 and 2020 that assisted 225 applicants pursuing Illinois retail licenses. Curaleaf Holdings Inc and Green Thumb Industries Inc funded nonprofits helping people with cannabis-related records rejoin society. Curaleaf Holdings Inc donated 10% of proceeds from BNoble cannabis product sales to 5 organizations helping formerly incarcerated people obtain work. Green Thumb Industries Inc allotted a portion of Good Green sales to a nonprofit grant program funding cannabis education, work training, employment assistance, and expungement services in communities harmed by cannabis criminalization. Green Thumb Industries Inc claimed it provided 3 Good Green grants as of 2021. Green Thumb Industries Inc collaborated with the Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit founded by cannabis entrepreneurs dedicated to expunging sentences of formerly incarcerated people and reintegrating them. Three companies, Curaleaf Holdings Inc, Cresco Labs Inc, and Green Thumb Industries Inc, established quotas and initiatives to hire previously incarcerated people. Cresco Labs Inc and Green Thumb Industries Inc90 developed restorative justice CSR activities. Cresco Labs Inc established scholarship programs at 2 universities in Ohio for people or communities harmed by drug war policies. Green Thumb Industries Inc funded 4 scholarships in 2 Ohio schools for students seeking cannabis industry involvement. Canopy Growth Corporation, Curaleaf Holdings Inc, Green Thumb Industries Inc,81-84 Cresco Labs Inc, and Trulieve announced intentions to support efforts and organizations seeking to expunge criminal records. Six companies joined industry associations supporting restorative criminal justice: Trulieve andCresco Labs Inc joined National Cannabis Roundtable, a US trade organization, whereas Canopy Growth Corporation, Curaleaf Holdings Inc, Cronos Group Inc, and Columbia Care joined the US Cannabis Council, a coalition seeking to end federal cannabis prohibition. Between 2019 and 2020, Cresco Labs Inc claimed it spent nearly $425 000 in staff hours and contributions toward restorative justice, including more than 90 hours of staffing at expungement events, sponsorship of 8 expungement events and 1 gun exchange, and assisting restorative justice activations in California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.