At the tail end of a 10-hour meeting, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to allow existing medical marijuana cultivation and delivery operations, a move that keeps local control over future oversight.
Last October, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 643 as well as Assembly Bills 243 and 266, known together as the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act.
The act states that California will become the authority for medical marijuana cultivation if a city or county doesn’t have its own ordinance regulating or prohibiting this activity by March 1.
Local cities have also taken steps to create last-minute laws and since the deadline is nearing, Santa Barbara County didn’t have much time to craft a detailed ordinance.
The county’s current ordinances prohibit marijuana dispensaries, but don’t regulate marijuana deliveries or cultivation.
The county’s ordinance treats marijuana like any other agricultural product — such as cauliflower or strawberries — and though residents can complain about nuisance issues, including light or odors, there is no provision forbidding cultivation.
The state allows marijuana use and cultivation for medicinal purposes, according to the Compassionate Use Act, approved by voters in 1996.
On Tuesday, the supervisors voted unanimously to ban new marijuana cultivation in unincorporated areas, but allow existing operations to continue if they fall under state law.
They also decided to allow marijuana delivery to continue.
Because the state could change the rules any day, the supervisors didn’t think this vote to have lasting implications.
“I fully expect the state to run over the top of this,” Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam said of the vote after hours of public comment. “I resent the fact that we’ve been shoved into this position.”
Adding another level of complexity is the fact that it is still a federal felony to cultivate marijuana under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act.
This was not lost on the supervisors, who grappled with conflicting state and federal law.
“Then why are we talking about this if it’s a felony?” said First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal. “I’m having trouble reconciling this paradox we’re in.”
Case law states that local jurisdictions retain control over land-use and zoning designations, and county counsel encouraged the board to act now or lose its authority to do so to the state.
Planning and Development Director Glenn Russell said that the enforcement actions are directed at a property with marijuana for different reasons such as an illegal trailer or a greenhouse constructed without permits.
If they know there is marijuana on the property, planning staff will ask the sheriff’s department to accompany them.
“It’s not that we’re going out there to enforce against medical-marijuana cultivation,” Russell said.
Second District Supervisor Janet Wolf said later that she’s received numerous calls from residents who live on East Camino Cielo, complaining about marijuana growing in the area, and staff have responded to nuisance calls as a result.
Undersheriff Barney Melekian said that residents in that area are “highly concerned” about activity taking place there, and that deputies have responded to check on the safety of the area.
Conflicting laws have put law enforcement in “an untenable position,” Melekian said.
Dozens of speakers turned out on Tuesday to explain how medical marijuana is essential to their lives.
Wearing a shirt that said “I am not a criminal,” Mark Russell was one of many to take the podium.
Russell said he has opened dispensaries in Santa Barbara and Goleta, and “these operations are completely legal and provide a service to people who cannot grow their own cannabis.”
Speakers included many medical-marijuana patients who have serious conditions, such as HIV and Crohn’s Disease, who said marijuana is part of their life for medicinal use.
They expressed concerns about limiting deliveries, saying that many patients are too sick to cultivate their own marijuana.
It’s unclear if and when the Legislature will amend the timeline piece of the bill, which would push back the March 1 deadline for local jurisdictions to create their own rules regarding cultivation and deliveries.
During public comment, Cameron Schunk read comments on behalf of his boss, Assemblyman Das Williams, who urged the county not to rush with an ordinance.
Williams wrote that he was “99 percent certain” the timeline would be extended in the Legislature.
Up on the dais, Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino said he’d like to know how much marijuana is being grown in Santa Barbara County.
“Why aren’t we enjoying more revenue from this?” he said.
Third District Supervisor Doreen Farr said she would never vote to ban deliveries, stating that would be “cruel and inhumane.”
When it comes to cultivation, Farr said she hadn’t heard any complaints about nuisances in her district, which includes Isla Vista and the Santa Ynez Valley.
She said she’d support a licensing process for existing growers.
“I think the state is going to act very soon, and not only move the deadline but possibly nullify the actions of local jurisdictions,” she said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
