The third cannabis dispensary in unincorporated Santa Barbara County will open its doors soon in Orcutt. 

Dr. Greenthumb’s is located at 1604 E. Clark Ave. in the small shopping center at the corner of Stillwell Road.

The opening marks the completion of a lengthy application and approval process through Santa Barbara County for a chance to operate.

“Regardless of my personal opinion on the sale or use of cannabis, the business has been granted the opportunity to operate after going through the county process,” Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson said. “Security, compliance and impact to the community will be of the utmost importance to monitor once operational.”

During a June discussion about tax revenues, Nelson noted the sluggish paths for dispensaries to open after applying and being selected for permits. 

Three years ago, Santa Barbara County agreed to allow six dispensaries, or one each for unincorporated planning areas, and choose operators after ranking the applicants. Additional dispensaries have opened in local cities.

As of June, only shops in Santa Ynez and Isla Vista had opened, leaving Orcutt, Los Alamos, Carpinteria and the eastern Goleta Valley to move through the county’s process while dealing with assorted issues.

Hurdles to overcome have included lawsuits, supply challenges, a slumping cannabis market and more.

“People voted for it overwhelmingly in the state of California, and I think the county’s done a good job of not having an over-proliferation,” said Steve Lavagnino, chair of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and the Fifth District representative.

Orcutt will be the sixth California location for Dr. Greenthumb’s, which also has a shop in Michigan.

Tucked behind a cellphone store and an urgent care center, the dispensary sits next to a nail salon.

A sign on the building above a pink bench reminds customers of the ban for smoking, vaping and cannabis consumption on site or within 50 feet of the facility.

The Orcutt store’s approximately 20 employees recently underwent training to prep for the opening.

A grand opening ceremony for Dr. Greenthumb’s is planned from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday with live music and food. The event will include a meet-and-greet with B-Real, lead vocalist of Cypress Hill and a founder of the Dr. Greenthumb’s brand. 

The Orcutt shop also will be the second in the Santa Maria Valley, following the opening of Guadalupe’s first cannabis retail shop.

Root One, part of SLO Cal Roots, opened in October at 928 Guadalupe St. (also Highway 1).

In addition to Guadalupe, SLO Cal Roots has stores in Grover Beach and San Luis Obispo.

The city of Santa Maria lacks any cannabis shops or other operations after the City Council rejected welcoming weed. 

However, a recent staff presentation on ways to solve the city’s financial woes included the option of possibly opening the door to the cannabis industry. The matter is set to return to the council in February.

Two locations of the Farmacy cannabis dispensary chain have already opened, at 6555 Pardall Road in Isla Vista and 3576 Madera Drive in Santa Ynez.

Meanwhile, the other retail storefronts continue to move forward, according to Santa Barbara County staff.

In the Toro Canyon and Carpinteria Valley area, the applicant for a dispensary on Santa Claus Lane continues to work through the building permit process to make interior and exterior changes.

In the eastern Goleta Valley, Island Drift is completing its facility build-out at 4235 State St.

For Los Alamos, a new player has entered after Haven pulled out of the application process. 

The second-highest-ranked application in the Los Alamos Community Plan Area, Honalee Management, will submit a conditional use permit application for a retail shop. 

Honolee’s application said the store at 315 Bell St. would operate as Cottonwood Roots, recognizing that Los Alamos means cottonwood in Spanish.