Last week I discussed how the pre-pandemic disputes over short-term rentals are bubbling up again.  The other land-use issue that I expect will come front and center as we return to some semblance of normalcy post-pandemic is cannabis-related property.

Communities are starting to see large-scale and capital-intensive cannabis development. The property taxes from these developments are, of course, enticing to communities. However, I suspect we will start to see some municipal disputes about cannabis uses in the next few years, as these uses continue to proliferate.

Already, we are seeing disputes relating to the use of property for caregiver grow operations. I expect these disputes to multiply.

However, I also expect to see cannabis-related property transactions to proliferate. If (or when) the federal government removes the remaining regulatory and legal hurdles to cannabis development, I would expect these developments to accelerate. However, I also expect major corporate investors to get into the cannabis market once the remaining legal hurdles are cleared. The impact of the acceleration of this segment of the market may, in my mind, counter-intuitively, drive prices down. As the business becomes more normalized, I expect the approved zoning for these uses to expand, which will have the impact of increasing the supply of properties that are approved for such uses.

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