Yuba County, CA Cannabis Regulations: Dispensary Zoning (2026)

Yuba County Code Chapter 7.41 defines 'commercial cannabis activities' broadly, covering cultivation, possession, manufacture, distribution, processing, storing, laboratory testing, packaging, labeling, transportation, delivery, and sale of cannabis or cannabis products, plus 'all activities related to cannabis that are not considered personal use' (§ 7.41.200.D). Section 7.41.300 then prohibits every one of those activities within the unincorporated area of the County. The ban applies countywide with no zoning district exception: Chapter 7.41 does not create any commercial cannabis zone, permit category, or license, unlike counties that allow cultivation or retail under a use permit.

The County's findings explain the choice. Yuba County voters rejected three separate 2016 local cannabis measures, Measures A, B, and E, which would have allowed outdoor cultivation, licensed dispensaries, and commercial medical cannabis activity respectively, even though voters statewide approved Proposition 64 the same year (§ 7.41.120.K-N). The Board of Supervisors cited fire, water-quality, and crime risks from unregulated grows in its findings for the ban (§ 7.41.120.O, Q).

The prohibition does not touch personal use. State law lets an adult 21 or older possess up to 28.5 grams of cannabis, eight grams of concentrate, and cultivate up to six living plants for personal use, and Chapter 7.41 says nothing in it authorizes activity in violation of state or federal law but also does not restrict what state law already allows for personal cultivation (§ 7.41.110, § 7.41.120.U-V).

Any violation is automatically deemed a public nuisance under § 7.41.400, and the Sheriff's Office and the Code Enforcement Director jointly enforce the chapter (§ 7.41.500). An Enforcement Officer may inspect a suspected parcel and, if entry is refused, obtain an inspection warrant (§ 7.41.510).