I voted for Prop. 64 six years ago because, as an environmental lawyer for 35 years, I wanted the devastating impacts of illegal cannabis grows curtailed. These included excess water consumption, pesticide use, degradation of water quality, odor, and, in the Coastal Zone, conflicts with visitor-serving uses, beach access, and public recreation. Keeping our public beaches available for the public first and foremost has always been the primary driver of the Coastal Act, and this state policy is now specifically recognized as an environmental justice issue.
Illegal grows were and are bad news. I believed, naively, that if growers and retailers were required to seek permits in a transparent process, under a carefully curated regulatory program, my environmental concerns would be addressed. Small farmers and people of color who have been disproportionately impacted by an unjust legal system would be the beneficiaries as licensees and owners. It has not worked out that way statewide, nor in Santa Barbara, where the county’s failures have already been documented in a scathing 2020 Grand Jury report and continue unchecked.
The truth is, the county went all in on cannabis, seeing only the color of money. In its haste, it did virtually nothing to stop illegal expansions of cultivators operating without permits. The county failed to effectively address odors, driving elderly, immune-compromised friends of mine in Carpinteria out of their homes. And, they’ve repeatedly made changes in the program to benefit cultivators without approval and certification by the Coastal Commission.