Blog note: This article refers to a Santa Barbara County Grand Jury report.
Santa Barbara County only has 1.8% of California’s land, but it has 35% of
the state’s pot cultivation licenses.
That might be good news for county jobs and revenue. But it has negatively
affected avocado and wine industries, which are more traditionally
associated with the coastal county. And there’s an uptick in resident
complaints about the smell of cannabis.
The meteoric rise of cannabis is thanks to a close relationship between the
industry, its lobbyists, and local political leaders.
A scathing grand jury report that came out last week documents what
journalist Jerry Roberts calls “a disgraceful political process teeming
with influence peddling, secrecy and sleaze.”
Two county supervisors used a political loophole to meet in private and
create legislation without public knowledge. The report notes that industry
leaders were in contact with county supervisors right before key votes, and
provided tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.
“It’s hard to build a doghouse in Santa Barbara County without 12 years of
permits,” says Roberts. “They tried to implant a new industry rather than
trying to see if they couldn’t [sic] work it in, in a more compatible way
with neighborhoods and other industries.”
County Supervisor Das Williams says the industry has been important for
employment and for discouraging black market marijuana sales, but says
legalization will inevitably be a bumpy road.
He also says the ad hoc committee, which met behind closed doors, helped
accelerate the process of legalizing the industry.
Williams says especially during the coronavirus pandemic, the expedited
process saved the county from an even greater economic recession.
“We have hundreds of thousands of people that are slipping into poverty.
But we have 5,000 jobs that are not going away that pay an average of
65K/year in farm work,” he says.
Williams also says the industry now brings in more money than sales tax,
which is good news for public safety and social services. “If you are having
a sheriff respond to an emergency on time, if your neighbor’s abused child
has somebody taking care of them, if you have a library that’s open, it’s
because of marijuana tax revenue.”
The grand jury report recommends the creation of an ethics commission.
KCRW
Hosted by Steve Chiotakis
July. 13, 2020
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