Cannabis and Politics About to Ignite in Santa Barbara County
Supervisors, Operators, and Critics Work in the Lull Before the Storm
This past week, a new cannabis civility seemed to enter public discussions. Could it be a trend? It doesn’t seem likely.
The county’s Planning Commission held two marathon sessions trying to solve some of the newly legalized industry’s rougher edges: pesticide drift endangering cannabis crops, terpene drift endangering wineries, and, most of all, odor drift enraging neighbors. The sessions were long — one ran more than seven hours — but all were startlingly constructive. For the first time, opposing combatants seemed more intent on solving problems than affixing blame.
In dramatic contrast to the volcanic shout-fest that occurred last year, this Tuesday’s cannabis confab at the county supervisors meeting was devoid of political theatrics. Last year, Sheriff’s deputies had to escort an angry prospective vintner — a well-heeled refugee from the oil and gas fields of Louisiana named Bubba — out of the county building after he called one of the county’s cannabis leaders “an asshole.”
