Two cannabis projects that generated stiff neighborhood opposition in the western Carpinteria Valley — a "grow" on Foothill Road that was in bankruptcy and a cannabis dispensary that never got off the ground on Santa Claus Lane — were quietly abandoned for good this fall. Island Breeze Farms, a cannabis greenhouse operation at 3376 Foothill Road, and The Roots pot shop that was planned for 3823 Santa Claus Lane, represent the latest evidence of the boom-to-bust dynamic that has plagued the cannabis industry in Santa Barbara County since its inception, seven years ago. Amid a glut of cannabis on the market in California — with illegal pot making up more than half of sales — legal growers, who must pay local and state taxes and regulatory costs, have found it harder to survive.
"My observation is that cannabis is not the financial benefit that the various owners undertook to be a part of, because the process that the county established is costly and time consuming," said county Planning Commissioner Mike Cooney, who represents the valley.
On Sept. 30, Island Breeze was sold to Shane Brown, a Montecito businessman who wants nothing to do with pot. He plans to convert the property into a tree nursery.
"I'm very adamant against cannabis in the valley," Brown said. "I'm not a believer, and it's deep-seated. I grew up with parents who smoked pot, and that didn't help me at all in my childhood. My parents were poor and spent their money on pot instead of their kids."
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