Pros and Cons: Legal Marijuana in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara’s first marijuana dispensaries are a welcome addition to the community from many — but not necessarily all — perspectives. Advantages and disadvantages exist in the increased availability of legal marijuana (defined as plant-based products with more than 0.3% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]). We do not discuss cannabidiol (CBD), a component of cannabis plants, which lacks the high and may (or may not) have other benefits.

Perhaps the clearest benefit of legal marijuana sales is a decrease in social , legal, and economic burdens imposed by its former criminalization. Such burdens were disproportionately borne by racial minorities, who despite not selling or using marijuana more often than the population as a whole, were almost four times as likely to be arrested and incarcerated for such activities. Legalization also shifts economic benefits away from the black market and toward legal businesses, many of which are local. And Santa Barbara County will benefit (albeit much less than originally estimated) from a projected $6 million increase in tax revenues in 2019, some of which will be used in efforts to decrease the substantial illegal cultivation of marijuana that persists in Santa Barbara County. Other advantages include easier access for Santa Barbara residents and tourists who enjoy the high.

Many people use marijuana for medical reasons. However, proof of medical benefits is weak and limited to a small subset of conditions. These conditions include pain due to nerve disease, nausea, and vomiting in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy, seizures due to one rare cause, and spasticity due to multiple sclerosis.