A Santa Barbara grand jury blames county supervisors for working too closely with lobbyists as they sought to regulate massive marijuana grows
The Santa Barbara County grand jury criticized county supervisors this week for allowing “unfettered access” to marijuana lobbyists as the board voted to let cannabis cultivation explode in the Santa Ynez Valley region and Carpinteria with little regulation and a flimsy tax regime that has deprived the county of millions of dollars.emails showing the close relationship that developed between the industry and two supervisors, along with a lead member of the county executive staff.
“On March 20, 2018, the most extreme example was an email sent by a Board member to a lobbyist, during a Board meeting, asking the lobbyist if they agreed with a [planning and development] staff recommendation.” for agencies within the county. The report’s findings largely echo those in a Los Angeles Times investigation published in June 2019.At that point, Santa Barbara had licenses for 35% of all cannabis acreage in California, while Humboldt County, the historic hub of weed, had 22%.
The supervisors started the land rush for marijuana in 2017 when, unlike any other county in the state, they decided not to limit the size of marijuana grows and opened a back door for anyone who wanted to get in the business before the county came up with a licensing and tax regime.All you had to do was claim on an affidavit that you had been growing medical cannabis on your property in January 2016.
The jury questioned why the county ever thought the industry would be long term and viable, when its own hired expert warned there was. California consumed between 1.5 million and 2.5 million pounds but was producing 13.5 million.
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