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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.
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.
Santa Barbara County’s midyear financial picture rosier than expected
NewsLompoc Record, March 3, 2021
General revenues that exceeded those expected when the budget was crafted last year include secured property taxes by more than $3.5 million, cannabis taxes by nearly $3.4 million, property transfer taxes by almost $2.5 million and sales taxes by more than $1.7 million.
“Cannabis has saved public services,” said 1st District Supervisor Das Williams, who said the county’s financial experience this year is “wildly different” from that of other jurisdictions.
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Khalid Al-Naser Tends to Raw Garden’s Cannabis Kingdom
NewsSanta Barbara Independent, February 16, 2021
…Raw Garden focuses primarily on the products themselves rather than marketing hype or shiny packaging. “Lifestyle brands are great and definitely something that’s tangible for a lot of companies,” said Al-Naser. “But when we’re talking about normalization, being able to highlight the product, the inputs, the process, and the practices that go into making that, that helps consumer confidence.”
“If you’re making medicine for little sick girls and old ladies, which is where our genesis comes from, you don’t want to be boastful or bragging about how cool your stuff is,” he explained. “We really try not to pound our chests too hard about anything. I think that detracts from the product, which should be the main focus.”
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Permit approved for existing cannabis cultivation project near Buellton
NewsLompoc Record, January 13, 2021
A cannabis cultivation operation on Santa Rosa Road near Buellton received a conditional use permit and development plan Jan. 13 with the unanimous approval of the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission after the company twice revised its odor control plan to address public and commission concerns.
Central Coast Agriculture has been operating the cultivation operation since before Jan. 19, 2016, and applied for the CUP and development plan to make the operation on the 68.19-acre parcel at 8701 Santa Rosa Road compliant with county ordinances.
The approval came after three hearings on the project and multiple revisions to the odor abatement plan, but some members of the public still objected to the odor plan and asked for more changes.
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Raw Garden Announces Expansion To Arizona – Q&A With CEO John De Friel
NewsForbes, December 17, 2020
Raw Garden boasts over 2,000 cultivars grown on 85 acres of land in the lush Santa Barbara County. If you ask its CEO and co-founder John De Friel, Raw Garden’s ideology is farm-first.
It balances both realities, proving how cannabis brands can be a well-oiled agricultural machine that stays “small,” that is to say, humbled by its roots in the medical community and the need for accessibility.
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Lawsuit Against Hoop-House Ordinance Shot Down
NewsSanta Barbara Independent, October 21, 2020
Judge Thomas Anderle rejected a lawsuit filed by the Coalition for Responsible Cannabis that challenged the adequacy of the environmental review conducted as part of the County of Santa Barbara’s controversial new hoop-house ordinance, passed by the Board of Supervisors last year.
Traditionally, hoop houses have escaped the scrutiny of county environmental review on the grounds that they are agricultural implements and ag is generally exempt. But in recent years, the county has seen a significant proliferation of hoop houses — not just more, but bigger, too — fueled by an increase in berry production as well as cannabis cultivation.
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