Dressed in plaid button-up shirts and Carhartt vests, farmers showed up to the fourth floor of the County Administration Building on Tuesday to praise the county supervisors for their “progressive” approach to legalizing cannabis production. But Peter Adam, the ultraconservative supervisor and fifth-generation farmer, told them to “change the word ‘progressive’ to ‘libertarian.’”
In a way, the exchange perfectly embodied the end to California’s prohibition on the recreational use of marijuana. In Santa Barbara County, it appears to be a bipartisan effort. Even those — like Adam —who were once opposed to pot for pleasure have somewhat begrudgingly gotten on board after voters passed Proposition 64 last November.
To that end, the county supervisors voted Tuesday to launch an online registry to allow pot growers — existing and potential — to provide seven pages of detailed information about their operations. Where are they located? How many plants do they grow? What is their water supply? Are they located within 600 feet of a school, library, or drug treatment facility? And so on.