'A lot of the good community and small businesses kind of got shaken loose'; Humboldt County reflects on 420

California marked the 10‑year anniversary of voter‑approved cannabis legalization on Monday, a milestone that arrives as Humboldt County operators say the industry is still struggling to stabilize despite a decade of regulatory reforms and shifting market forces.

State officials highlighted progress since Proposition 64 passed in 2016 - including more than 215,000 cannabis convictions cleared and a recent rollback of the state excise tax from 19% to 15% under AB 564, a change aimed at easing pressure on legal operators. But on the North Coast, where cannabis has long been an economic backbone, local organizers say the past decade has reshaped the industry in ways few anticipated.

For Steve Geider, founder of Cannifest, 420 remains "an international holiday celebrating freedom." It's a huge day in the industry, where customers are expecting big sales and giveaways.

"I believe it's the biggest sales day of the year," he said.

This year, Geider coordinated a first‑of‑its‑kind shuttle tour linking six Humboldt dispensaries where 50 participants visit local dispensaries to learn about the regional industry and participate in event-specific activities.

"We had a good opportunity to bring some dispensaries together," said Geider. "You don't see a lot of dispensaries supporting each other. … That was one of the biggest ideas behind this, was to show the solidarity between the industry, because it is a competitive nature, just like any industry."

Geider said legalization brought sweeping changes to Humboldt's farmer‑centric economy. Some changes were expected, many not.

"You know, we've always had an interesting view of the cannabis industry because we're at the production end of it. We're at the end of the industry where a lot of things are grown. … Our community built its reputation on growing the best cannabis," said Geider. "Over the last 10 years, a lot of the good community and small businesses kind of got shaken loose a little bit of the industry."

He described the transition from a traditional market to a heavily regulated one as uniquely difficult.

"There's never been an industry I know of that had such a traditional or illegal market that then went legal - and had some of the biggest barriers to entry. … maybe one of the more regulated businesses in the world to sell a plant people grow in their backyard."

Grading on a curve

Still, he said local wholesale prices have begun to rise for the first time in years, and supply is tightening. Geider said the biggest unresolved issue is the lack of a standardized grading system for cannabis. Something he believes is holding back Humboldt farmers and distorting the market statewide.

"There's truly no international or national … recognized grading system to classify the quality of cannabis," he said.

Without grading, he said, prices are dictated not by quality but by production method, with indoor commanding the highest shelf price regardless of whether outdoor or greenhouse-grown flowers are superior.

"You could have outdoor that's a nine out of 10, … but the prices still wouldn't be reflective of that," he said. "We have farmers getting $300 for pounds that are way better than these $1,000 indoor pounds."

Geider said Humboldt's future depends on reforms that recognize quality. He argues that a grading system could stabilize prices, reward quality and keep more small farmers in business.

"Seems like it'd be easy to work really hard to create a metric that is recognized across the board," he said. "It's not like there's nobody out here working in these arenas, just no one's putting it together like that."

Allies in the community

The Humboldt County Bloodmobile was parked in front of THCC where individuals could have their place held in line while they donate blood. In return for their donation, they received a goodie bag from THCC.

Savannah Snow, co-owner and manager of The Humboldt County Collective (THCC), says that on this ten-year anniversary of legalization, the ease of access for the community is "awesome."

"The strength of testing, there's some really wonderful things with this legalized market, … super important and super imperative for people's safety," said Snow.

Black market concerns

Snow expressed concern for those who may purchase items off the black market, where there could be unknown additives used in the product. Saying there is a need for black market enforcement.

"That's what's hurting our market is the fact that they're just allowing this to go on, and it's so easy to find. It's very scary. You don't know what you're getting," said Snow. "It sounds like a wonderful thing, … but then, it's not tested, so it could be full of pesticides and molds and mildews."

"That's a huge thing that we're super stringent about. I'd like to see a lot more enforcement on the illegal operations," said Snow. "I want to see more crackdowns of that and less of bothering the small people."

Hannah Whyte of the Humboldt County Growers'Alliance spoke of how the holiday has changed since legalization. "It's a day for consumers to celebrate the history and culture of cannabis. From the perspective of retail, it's a great time to introduce products to consumers."

Whyte also spoke of concerns that were familiar to others this reporter spoke to in the industry.

"I think there's a lot of struggle in the industry still, 10 years later, we've lost so many of our businesses in Humboldt County, cannabis, and not cannabis, related to the decline of the economy since legalization, it's been very challenging for small farmers, farmers to compete against the consolidation and corporatization of cannabis," said Whyte. "I think it's a little bittersweet 10 years later for a vibrant community locally."

Maranda Vargas can be reached at 707-441-0504 or mvargas@times-standard.com.

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