Commercial Cannabis in Riverside County 

Over the last several years, California voters and the state legislature created a legal framework to enable the cannabis industry to move into a regulated commercial market. In response to these changes, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted to initiate the process to establish potential ordinances to create a comprehensive local program to permit and regulate medical and adult-use cannabis businesses and cannabis activities. On October 23, 2018, the Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance establishing the permitting process and regulations for commercial cannabis operations. This webpage serves as central location for the multi-department implementation of the County’s Cannabis Program.
 
  ANNOUNCEMENT!

The County of Riverside has launched a new GIS tool that can help locate and map commercial cannabis CUP projects sites. You may begin using this tool by visiting the following link: https://gis.countyofriverside.us/Html5Viewer/?viewer=Rivco_Cannabis. See more information and instructions below (click here).

Quick Facts About Cannabis in Riverside County

   -   Ordinance No. 348.4898 establishes the permitting process and regulations for commerical cannabis operations and became effective December 23, 2018. However, the County is only responsible for permitting in the unincorporated County areas. Therefore, if you are located within an incorporated city, please contact that city to inquire about the city’s regulations. 
   -   The County of Riverside is now accepting conditional use permit (CUP) applications for all commercial cannabis activities, including Cultivation, Retail, and Microbusinesses.  New Filing Instructions are now available for the submittal of CUP applications for commercial cannabis. Please visit the Applications webpage for existing CUP application and forms and any new documents.
   -   Commercial Cannabis regulations can be found in Article XIXh of Ordinance No. 348. Additional commercial cannabis documents may be found in the Documents & Reports webpage.
   -   All commercial cannabis conditional use permits issued by the County will require that a cannabis businesses obtain a state license prior to operating. More information on state licensing is available here.
   -   All commercial cannabis conditional use applications are required to be processed with a Development Agreement (negotiated with the County). Development Agreement base rate and processing fees will be determined by the BOS after the first of the year.
       
     
Applying for a Commercial Cannabis Conditional Use Permit
Every commercial cannabis activity requires an approved conditional use permit (CUP) and development agreement, at a minimum:
 
  • There is no special or unique CUP application that will be used to apply for a commercial cannabis activities. The existing application form shall be used. CUP application forms and filing instructions can be found on the application webpage.
  • Fees for CUP applications can be found on the fee schedule webpage. Fees for commerical cannabis CUP applications are no different than CUP application fees for other conditional uses.
  • All commercial cannabis CUP applications will be processed with a development agreement that will be negotiated during the application process
Cannabis CUP Tracker

The Riverside County Cannabis Online GIS Tool can help identify CUP locations with functions that may help you stay informed and up-to-date on Cannabis activity in Riverside County. Instructions will be posted on this website soon.

Riverside County Cannabis CUP Tracker*

*This tool is available for informational purposes only. Data obtained from this website should be independently verified for accuracy, including status of each application and distance separations from sensitive uses or other cannabis businesses. Please contact the Riverside County Planning Department for more information.

(8.25.2020)

Hemp Information
REGISTRATION FOR INDUSTRIAL HEMP CULTIVATION IS NOW AVAILABLE. All growers of industrial hemp for commercial purposes must register with the County Agricultural Commissioner prior to cultivation.  Any cultivation of industrial hemp without a valid registration is in violation of the law and subject to enforcement.  The fees and process for registration can be found on the Agricultural Commissioner's website.

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