Last night, Governor Newsom delivered his State of the State annual address from Dodgers Baseball Stadium and although he addressed many relevant and critical issues, a couple of statements stand out to us as a declared essential industry and economic growth contributor that touches every facet mentioned below.

Our agricultural industry feeds the nation….California has the most innovation, venture capital, and small-business investment in this country. We will keep investing and fostering every small entrepreneur – the drivers of our GDP. – Gov. Gavin Newsom

We couldn’t agree more. Our cannabis farmers and entrepreneurs have literally led the state in stabilizing the workforce and providing economic security for tens of thousands of workers – 40,000 statewide and more than 2,500 here close to home.

At the national level more than 240,000 cannabis full time jobs have been created and it is currently the fastest growing industry in the United States, showing double-digit growth since 2017.

States such as Arizona, Florida, Oregon and Oklahoma are aggressively attracting more and more investments and government assistance to grow their cannabis economy. According to the recent Leafly 2020 Jobs Report, Arizona, Oregon and Oklahoma cannabis economy grew by more than 19% from 2019 – 2020, creating more than 42,000 full time jobs and having a combined market value of approximately $1.9 billion.

More good news was presented this week by the County of Santa Barbara – general tax revenues exceeded expectations with cannabis taxes leading the way at $3.4 million, followed by property transfer taxes at $2.5 million and sales taxes at $1.7 million. Only county property taxes surpassed cannabis with more than $3.5 million collected. Read more on the Lompoc Record

Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams reflected on the good news: “Cannabis has saved public services…I do think there’s a pressing need to use marijuana tax revenue as an ongoing source.” – Santa Maria Times, 3/5/21

According to the California League of Cities, more municipalities that onced banned all cannabis operations will start to open up in 2021, having seen the jobs, tax revenue and public health benefits of a highly regulated industry.

The future economic picture for the state is looking brighter, but we must also stay united and remain diligent against anti-cannabis forces who continue to spread falsehoods and misinformation in an effort to try to undermine the County’s “cannabis ordinance” and state laws.

We are hopeful that better days are ahead and encouraged by the local community leadership to invigorate collaborations between “wine and cannabis” to promote and develop regional tourism initiatives, benefiting our local hotel and lodging industry.

Stay in touch, send us your ideas and join our efforts.

With gratitude,

Sara and John

This week the U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC), a newly formed strategic alliance of progressive equity and cannabis national leaders, issued their policy priorities for the new Congress. A few of their priorities include:

• De-scheduling cannabis from the list of controlled substances
• Building upon the MORE Act passed by the House of Representatives
• Support for meaningful social equity policies and programs

More importantly, USCC (http://www.uscannabiscouncil.org/) asked President Biden to consider an executive order to pardon all non-violent federal cannabis offenders and expunge criminal records associated with non-violent cannabis-related offenses. In California, through Proposition 64 and the leadership of both former Governor Jerry Brown and Governor Newsom, we have been leading the way on social equity initiatives and restorative justice reforms. We support these measures nationally, and remain hopeful that both the President and the Congressional Leadership move in unison to enact them into federal law relatively soon.

In Santa Barbara County, we are fiercely committed to ending the food insecurity issues faced by our most vulnerable populations, especially in North County. The county has the 3rd highest rate of food insecurity in the state, and we must be resilient with our ongoing partnership with the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County to deliver food and other vital resources to families and children in need. Please take a moment and donate here.

Finally, we would like to highlight one of our local farmers, Khalid Al Naser – who shares his passion for farming in a “The Cannabis Corner” feature in the Santa Barbara Independent, written by reporter Matt Kettmann. You can read about Khalid’s story here.

Let’s continue our strong support for community engagement and advocacy as we face an ever changing regulatory and political landscape this year.

Together We Will Thrive,

Sara and John

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act was passed on a bi-partisan majority vote in December by the House of Representatives.

The MORE Act will decriminalize marijuana and remove it from the federal schedule of controlled substances, and provide for regulation and taxation of legal cannabis sales. According to the most recent Gallup Poll survey, more than 68% of Americans believe cannabis should be legal. At the federal level, cannabis arrests, charges and convictions would be automatically expunged at no cost to the individual. The Bill would ensure the federal government could not discriminate against people because of cannabis use.

More than 600,000 Americans are arrested or cited every year for cannabis possession.

Today 15 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use of cannabis and another 36 states have approved medical cannabis programs.

What’s Next

Senate Majority Leader Schumer has selected Senators Cory Booker and Ron Wyden, Chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, to draft a comprehensive federal legislative proposal incorporating some of restorative justice reform provisions in the MORE Act and other provisions that will set federal policy on a path toward correcting an unfair system, ensure interstate commerce and fairly regulate consumer protections.

“Serious criminal justice reform cannot begin in our country without ending the war on cannabis. Removing criminal and non-criminal penalties is essential to a more just society. Simple possession charges or a conviction can end the hopes of getting a place to live, an education or a job. Cannabis arrests, charges and convictions should be automatically removed from individual criminal histories. Our nation seeks to rebuild its economy, we should not hold back hope because of outdated laws that have been unevenly enforced and that most Americans no longer support. The cannabis community now generates billions in sales and hundreds of millions in state tax revenues, critical for states facing budget challenges of historic proportions. Here, close to home, in Santa Barbara County we have developed programs that have created thousands of jobs and generated local economic activities for contractors, suppliers, professional services and support for small family-owned businesses. We are humbled and take pride every day of our efforts in building the very best cannabis sun-grown community in the region.” –Sara Rotman and John De Friel, Co-founders of Good Farmers Great Neighbors

We remain confident, the future is bright and our state and region will continue to lead the way. Last year, Governor Newsom with the strong support of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), signed into law SB 185 to help protect cannabis farmers and allow producers to build brand awareness in counties and regions of the state to produce and manufacture high quality or organic cannabis farming and products.

Join us and together we will thrive,

Sara and John