A verbal ruling handed down last week in San Juan County Superior Court could prove the end of the road for an embattled farm owner and former host of a recently shuttered marijuana grow operation.

Backing claims in a lawsuit filed by neighbors of Sweet Water Farm, Judge Alan Hancock ruled Feb. 27 that a binding agreement in a road easement allows only for residential use of a shared gravel road on the west side of San Juan Island and prohibits its use for commercial purposes.

Sweet Water Farm, a 77-acre property located at the end of Fieldstone Road, was purchased by Jenny Rice in 2012 and later became home to San Juan Sungrown, a tier-3 marijuana production facility situated on a one-acre portion of the farm, where Rice also boards, breeds and cares for horses.

Hancock also issued an injunction prohibiting production at San Juan Sungrown, which had its county issued building and land-use permits overturned by the county hearing examiner in December.

Rice attorney Skylee Robinson of Seattle said that she and her client will wait to review the official ruling and order before determining how to proceed.