Breadcrumb
Research
The Cannabis Studies Lab conducts community-engaged research that advances our understanding of cannabis, its socio-political landscapes, and the people and places shaped by its history and regulation.
Anchored in interdisciplinary inquiry and a commitment to equity and environmental stewardship, our research projects engage students alongside faculty and community partners to produce data, tools, and insights that inform policy, preserve cultural heritage, and prepare the next generation of scholars and practitioners.
Exploring regenerative management in commercial cannabis - Setting the baseline to assess health and resilience.
This project will characterize cannabis production systems across six Northern California Counties (Humboldt, Trinity, Mendocino, Sonoma, Nevada, and Santa Cruz) with an emphasis on soil and plant health, and the application of regenerative management practices to support farm viability, product quality/safety, and environmental resilience.
We are guided by four objectives to structure our action plan, analysis, and project outcomes:
- Establish farm network and assessment protocols.
- Conduct farm system assessment - data collection, observations, and farmer engagement.
- Facilitate farmer collaboration and networking - support knowledge transfer, practice guidelines, and implementation.
- Synthesize, report, and disseminate.
With legalization, cannabis production moved further away from in-ground, full-sun ‘back-to- the-land’ management to imported soils, fertilizers and automated greenhouses driven by market pressures of supply and demand. Across this timeline a small minority of cannabis production retained a focus on cultivation intended to reduce impacts to ecosystem services and restore sensitive habitats - regenerative agriculture! However, since the boom of 2016, a drastic decline in farm numbers is underway as the price per unit (pound) has plummeted. Without a shift in the paradigm, this could be the final chapter in California cannabis’ storied legacy.
Dan Mar
Research Associate and Lecturer
Cal Poly Humboldt, Cannabis Studies, Dept. of Sociology
Dan Mar is a seasoned watershed and regenerative agriculture consultant having assessed more than 400 cannabis farms. He is a lecturer in the Cannabis Studies program at Cal Poly Humboldt, the Environmental Stewardship lead for the program and the faculty advisor for the Cannabis Studies Lab. He is the PI for the annual Cannabis and Environmental Stewardship Symposium hosted by Cal Poly Humboldt. He has collaborated on two state funded projects with the Cannabis Restoration Grant Program as an environmental capacity building researcher and educator. He has over a decade of experience in restoration and agricultural project management including the development and oversight of state and federal permits. He is a certified Permaculture designer and a Regenerative Agriculture Technical Assistance Provider.
Garrett Liles
Associate Professor - Soil Science
College of Agriculture CSU Chico, Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems
A Chico native, Dr. Garrett Liles earned his bachelor’s degree at Chico State with an interdisciplinary special major in soil ecology. Experiences at Chico State and in summer seasonal jobs were the springboard for a master’s in soil and watershed sciences from University of Washington, Seattle studying headwater streams and the effects of forest management on stream and soil properties, and a PhD from UC Davis studying soil organic matter and the effects of disturbance and management on the terrestrial Carbon Cycle. Liles has a diverse professional work history including mapping the soils of Lassen Park for NRCS, analysis and planning of regional biomass to energy projects, and quantifying the effects of riparian restoration at the Cosumnes River Preserve, along with years of running chainsaws, building trails, and managing natural resources. Liles joined the faculty of the CSU Chico College of Agriculture in 2015 as an assistant professor of soil and plant science where he teaches across the spectrum of soil and ecosystem science while mentoring students to be critical thinkers and educated citizens.
William Nitzky
Associate Professor, College of Anthropology, CSU Chico
Director, Valene L. Smith Museum of Anthropology
William (Will) Nitzky is an anthropologist and museum professional specializing in ethnographic fieldwork, qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, documentary filmmaking, and community collaboration and engagement. For over two decades, he has conducted research in East and Southeast Asia and Northern California with and among rural communities with a focus on internal and external pressure on human livelihoods, community participation, and grounded theory. He has collaborated as Co-PI on two funded projects by ARI and USDA as a project lead in regenerative agriculture farmer engagement and soil sample digitization as well as student employee training. Throughout his fieldwork and as an educator of college undergraduate and graduate students, he has developed and conducted countless interviews, focus groups, and surveys for data collection and analysis and student training.
Jake Brimlow
Professor - Agriculture Business, College of Agriculture, CSU Chico
Dr. Brimlow is a professor of Agricultural Business in the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico. He earned his PhD at North Carolina State University where he studied Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics. Dr. Brimlow’s primary research focus is the economics of local/regional food systems, including how local markets are formed or limited, and the economic impacts of changes in local market activities. Dr. Brimlow has been active as PI/co-PI in major grants totaling over $10m and has published and presented research describing barriers to sales in local food markets and the effects of food hubs on local food markets. Dr. Brimlow and his colleagues launched the North Valley Food Hub, a grant-funded project created to increase local food sales in the CSU, Chico service region, as well as to provide education and outreach opportunities for students and community members. Dr. Brimlow is also involved in ongoing research projects investigating/describing the economics of regenerative agricultural systems in various cropping systems.
Licensed Geography Project
The Licensed Geography Project at the Cannabis Studies Lab analyzes the uneven rollout of California’s legal cannabis market using publicly available licensing data. Drawing from the California Department of Cannabis Control’s Unified License Search database, this project offers researchers, policymakers, and the broader public a detailed view of how cannabis legalization has unfolded spatially across the state.
- Spatial Analysis of Licenses: Mapping and modeling the distribution of cultivation, processing, and retail licenses across counties and jurisdictions to reveal patterns of legal cannabis development.
- Equity and Access Insights: Identifying disparities in market participation. For example, which communities have diverse ownership versus those with concentrated or limited access to support informed discussions about economic justice and regulatory design.
- Infrastructure and Energy Dynamics: Complementary research outputs explore related dimensions of cannabis production, including degree of enclosure and energy use in cultivation operations (e.g., how indoor vs outdoor grows factor into regional regulatory and environmental profiles).
By uniting large datasets with rigorous geospatial analysis, the Licensed Geography Project serves as a foundation for evidence-based discussions about how legalization affects communities differently - economically, socially, and environmentally. This work provides meaningful context for students and scholars investigating regulatory equity, rural development, and the structural shifts at play in California’s cannabis landscape.
Legacy Genetics Study
The Legacy Genetics Study, funded by a $2.7 million grant from the California Department of Cannabis Control, is a pioneering, community-driven research initiative aimed at documenting and preserving the genetic diversity and cultural heritage of California’s legacy cannabis communities. Focused on ethnographic, historical, and genomic inquiry, this project brings community partners directly into the research process.
- Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR): Partnering with local growers, advisory boards, and legacy communities throughout the state, the study employs a participatory model that amplifies local voice and expertise.
- Genetics & Heritage Preservation: Researchers collect and analyze data that trace lineage, diversity, and context of historic cannabis genetics, with outputs such as digital herbarium entries, genomic datasets, and interpretive materials.
- Oral Histories & Cultural Narratives: Hundreds of interviews, archived media, and storytelling efforts help weave together the socio-cultural fabric of rural cannabis communities, from the Emerald Triangle to other historic cultivation regions.
By integrating rigorous scientific methods with culturally grounded research practices, the Legacy Genetics Study preserves botanical diversity and honors the narratives and knowledge systems of growers whose contributions have shaped cannabis culture and innovation. The project positions students and researchers at the intersection of genetics, social history, and policy, fostering a deeper, more inclusive understanding of this plant and its human contexts.