If you haven’t read the Los Angeles Times article “The world’s largest pot farms, and how Santa Barbara opened the door,” you should.
If you care about Santa Barbara County’s blessed topography with its rolling hills, beautiful vineyards, quiet beaches, and unique tranquility that is home for thousands as well as a tourist destination, you must.
According to this well-researched article by Los Angeles Times staff writer Joe Mozingo, Santa Barbara County has become “the unlikely capitol of California’s legal pot market.” The draw of big money for growers, land owners, investors, and the county created the perfect moneymaking storm following the passing of Proposition 64 that legalized recreational marijuana in November 2016. But the county’s expectation of lucrative tax returns fizzled when the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, contrary to other counties, agreed to tax cannabis on revenue rather than tax the licensed square footage cultivated. Since there aren’t enough licensed dispensaries to buy the product only a fraction of what consultants predicted as income to Santa Barbara County has come to fruition.