Retail Cannabis at Santa Claus Lane Is the Wrong Choice

In an op-ed two years ago, “An Unfair and Forced Choice: Objections to Cannabis Retail at Santa Claus Lane,” I explained that the decision to place a cannabis retail outlet in either Summerland or Santa Claus Lane was forced because the county arbitrarily insists there must be an outlet south of Santa Barbara, and unfair because both Carpinteria and Montecito have “louder” self-governance structures that effectively prevent this outlet in their jurisdictions.

So, when the supervisors looked for a site, they focused on the weaker, less influential communities of Summerland and Santa Claus Lane who can appeal to only one defender, one person, Das Williams, the supervisor who “represents” them.

But Supervisor Williams, for all his gentle rhetoric — and never mind the now-forgotten Santa Barbara Grand Jury report — seems to be “all in” for the cannabis industry. The touted county lawsuit against Island Breeze growers has produced no change. (Williams’s speculation that Island Breeze has overextended their “non-conforming status” is just political hot air unless backed by facts which he could provide.) Thousands of dollars were spent on gathering data to show Island Breeze affidavits were falsified, then passed on to the Sheriff, District Attorney, Williams, and media without even a single acknowledgement of receipt! So, we in these communities are effectively locked out of self-governance efforts to keep retail cannabis out. I said in 2020, “It’s a shame!” And it still is.