Not-for-Profit Pot

As a 66-year-old longtime cannabis activist and medical patient who volunteered in the first medical dispensaries way back to 2006, I’ve been to hundreds of city and county meetings. It’s sad both city and county sold out local ownership and social equity in favor of non-locals with big investors from out of state and country.

The latest example is Los Alamos, where a longtime local, super-involved in and loved by the community re cannabis and non-cannabis issues lost out to a group from Los Angeles. The Sheriff’s department rep, part of an on-site inspection team, had issues and agenda. People are being punished for being in the industry years ago, helping cancer patients, vets, and homeless, especially when the DEA tried to close all dispensaries. Funny how all those medical dispensaries were not-for-profit, so let’s now bypass the people that did all the legwork.

Farmacy owner Graham Farrar won the #1 and possibly 2nd best locations. His greenhouse in Carpinteria got to double in size. Vertical integration is what we asked for, but same people getting larger. He called five news outlets to make community donation. Grassroots, now Cal Green in Goleta, gave away 100 free sleeping bags to homeless, 600 turkeys to Unity, as well as free meds to cancer patients, vets, and homeless. Never called anyone; just did it.