Santa Barbara Independent, January 21, 2020
Our fundamental mission is to develop the highest standards in cannabis cultivation. We also share our passion for sustainable farming, environmental stewardship, and healthy communities. — John De Friel and Sara Rotman co-Chairs of the North County Farmers Guild and Good Farmers Great Neighbors
Amy Steinfeld and Jack Uciferi
Cannabis—whether you support or oppose it, you certainly can’t avoid this topic. But due to the patchwork of local regulations and its status as a Schedule I drug, there’s still confusion over how cannabis is regulated. This article aims to clarify the regulatory regime governing cannabis farms in Santa Barbara County (“County”). Our hope is that with greater understanding of the cannabis industry’s regulatory burden, there will be greater support for policies that allow legal cannabis cultivators to remain viable vis-à-vis extremely sophisticated black market operators who ignore their regulatory and tax responsibilities. Two years after legalization, it’s increasingly clear that a properly regulated market benefits the public, the environment and consumers. In fact, the County, aided by millions in cannabis taxes, has shut down over 40 black market operations and is using the balance of funds to support local public services.
Cannabis Wire, January 10, 2020
With Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2020-21 budget, big changes are coming for the state’s nascent, legal cannabis market — also the nation’s largest.
During the most recent Santa Barbara County Planning Commission hearing where Blair Pence, CEO of the Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis, submitted documentation claiming that cannabis terpenes have an adverse effect on grapes for wine production. His statement was met with a strong rebuttal by opposing counsel presenting the results of an independent study showing no trace of cannabis terpenes in wine.
December 4, 2019, Santa Barbara County Planning Commission Meeting
Watch the presentation from the hearing (1:35 min) and read the lab results: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/
4q6l746ntkrhdgp/AABnkxPapwCxt3bjiAkuWLFQa?dl=0
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) said in a Veterans Day message that “protecting care for our wounded warriors and giving vets recovering from PTSD and chronic pain safer alternatives to opioids through medical cannabis should be a top priority.”
Read Rep. Blumenauer’s White Paper Rethinking Marijuana Policy
Santa Ynez Valley News, November 7, 2019
More than a year after Prop. 64’s passage, marijuana rules are a patchwork throughout the [Santa Barbara] county.
We’re not sure how this problem can be resolved, other than somehow unifying the rules. We are sure that something must be done, if state and local governments want to eliminate black-market operations.
If they don’t, the tax-revenue benefits of legalizing marijuana will be devoured by black-market profiteers undermining the legal market, and law enforcement agencies spending big bucks trying to stop them.
Santa Maria Sun, November 6, 2019
How much time do you think Santa Barbara County has to waste on appeals to cannabis projects?
If the county Planning Commission’s nine-hour hearing on Oct. 30 is any indication, apparently county staffers just have a ton of idle time to spend listening to people whine about cannabis. Yeah, guys. Nine hours. On one item.
Santa Barbara Independent, November 5, 2019
There’s a long history of people putting weed in wine. You basically just add a bunch of heated cannabis flowers to fermenting wine, let it sit for five days, strain out the leaves, then allow the batch to age another 8 to 12 months. There’s a little more to it than that, but it’s pretty simple. And totally illegal.
Noozhawk, November 5, 2019
The first year of voter-approved cannabis tax revenues brought in $6.7 million for Santa Barbara County, which is higher than expected, and the Board of Supervisors decided not to spend the surplus yet.
Green Entrepreneur, November 4, 2019
Carpinteria, Calif., once blossomed with chrysanthemums, lilies, and hydrangea, but the market for American-grown cut flowers started to wither under the spell of cheaper imports.
Keep cannabis farming accessible to farmers. Write to your supervisor and planning commission and join us at meetings to stop attempts to make cannabis production cost restrictive.
