Santa Barbara County Releases Preliminary Rankings for Cannabis Dispensaries

Preliminary rankings were released Thursday in Santa Barbara County’s search to select six cannabis dispensaries for each of its six unincorporated community areas.

There are 20 applicants who have made it to the final round and are vying for the six spots. The county ranked them based on “neighborhood compatibility” and site inspections. Only the top-ranked applicant in each area will be able to apply for a cannabis dispensary business license. 

Now that the preliminary rankings for each area are out, any accepted applicant will have five business days after posting on the county’s website to file a written scoring protest with the County Executive Office, which will consider the scoring protests and come to a final ranking.