NoSkunkButts.org Takes San Diego County to Court Over Socially Equitable Cannabis Program

Unincorporated San Diego County statistics and impact categories identified in the County’s environmental review of the Socially Equitable Cannabis Program. San Dieguito-area photo by Larissa Anderson.

Residents challenge County approval under CEQA, calling for economic opportunity that protects water, schools and agricultural communities

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, September 30, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A group of San Diego County residents is suing the County over its newly adopted Socially Equitable Cannabis Program (SECP), challenging whether the County’s environmental review and approval complied with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The County of San Diego and Board of Supervisors were formally served September 23 with No Skunk Butts’ petition for writ of mandate challenging approval of the SECP. The petition was filed September 18 in San Diego County Superior Court. No Skunk Butts v. Board of Supervisors of the County of San Diego is Case No. 26CU49808C.

The lawsuit follows more than five and a half years of program development, approximately $5 million in reported County expenditures, and an environmental review exceeding 2,000 pages. The Board of Supervisors approved key program elements and certified the environmental report August 19 by a 3–2 vote, with final adoption September 2.

“The question is whether achieving one important objective requires accepting significant, unavoidable environmental impacts on the communities and environment our government is supposed to protect,” said Eddie Lain of No Skunk Butts. “There has to be a better way to create real opportunity while protecting both. Let’s find it.”

The County describes the SECP as a framework for a legal, regulated cannabis industry providing an equitable path to business ownership and employment for people disproportionately impacted by past cannabis criminalization and the War on Drugs.

The program allows commercial cannabis activities in eligible unincorporated areas, including industrial-scale cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, testing, retail, microbusinesses, consumption lounges and temporary events. It establishes minimal 600-foot setbacks from schools, daycares and youth centers.

The County certified an environmental review identifying significant and unavoidable impacts involving aesthetics, cannabis odor, groundwater supply, construction noise, vehicle miles traveled and adequate water supplies, and adopted a Statement of Overriding Considerations. The environmental review acknowledges that cannabis odors cannot reliably be contained on-site under every atmospheric condition during harvest season.

Unincorporated San Diego County encompasses approximately 3,567 square miles, nearly 79% of the County’s area, approximately 37 communities and more than 515,000 residents. Residents also raised concerns about pesticides, runoff, wildfire, traffic, rural character, and effects on wineries and organic farms. School districts serving Bonsall, Fallbrook and Lakeside submitted comments addressing potential impacts on students, staff, campuses and educational activities.

Bonsall, Crest-Dehesa-Granite Hills-Harbison Canyon, Fallbrook and Valley Center planning or sponsor groups formally opposed the program as proposed or supported the No Project Alternative. Other communities, including San Dieguito, Jamul-Dulzura, Rainbow and Warner Springs, supported Alternative 4, which would offer stronger protections. In April, the County Planning Commission recommended prohibiting outdoor cultivation and requiring at least 1,000-foot buffers from schools, daycares, youth centers, parks, trails and places of worship.

“What has been extraordinary throughout this process is seeing communities across San Diego County rise together,” said Larissa Anderson, President of the Bonsall Unified School District Board of Trustees and Chair of the Bonsall Community Sponsor Group. “Land use advisors studied this program, showed up, spoke out and asked for stronger protections for the people and places they serve. Unincorporated does not mean isolated. These are places San Diegans and visitors know, visit and value. The SECP fast-tracks industrial-scale cannabis while prioritizing economic sacrifice zones over fresh food, clean water and scholastic opportunities. If we are serious about social equity, those fundamental building blocks of opportunity belong at the center of the conversation.”

No Skunk Butts points to Carpinteria Valley’s experience as a warning. Published reporting citing county records documented more than 4,000 complaints involving cannabis odors and greenhouse misting systems between mid-2018 and March 2025. Santa Barbara County subsequently required stronger odor controls. Shortly before a March 2026 compliance deadline, 11 of 22 growers had complied; eight reportedly sought yearlong extensions.

The organization is calling for economic opportunity and social equity alongside protections for water, schools, homes, agriculture and the environment “People who have been harmed deserve justice. Communities deserve environmental protection. Those two things should not be enemies,” said Lain.

Read the full press release for additional community perspectives and background.

Legal counsel for petitioner: Law Office of Todd T. Cardiff, APC
1901 First Ave., Suite 219, San Diego, CA 92101
https://tcardifflaw.com/contact/

More information: NoSkunkButts.org

Larissa Anderson
No Skunk Butts
+1 442-777-2266
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