A year ago, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors gave cannabis greenhouse growers in the Carpinteria Valley until this March 18 to clean up the pungent smell of pot that still lingers in hot spots around the Carpinteria Valley—eight years after the county rolled out the red carpet for the industry.
Specifically, the board ordered the growers to install "multi-technology carbon filtration" systems known as "scrubbers" inside their greenhouses. One model, manufactured in the Netherlands and tested in the valley in 2022, had been found, on average, to remove 84 percent of the smell of pot before it could escape through the open vents on greenhouse roofs and into neighborhoods.
The board also required growers to shut down the perfumed "misting" systems they were using for odor control by this March 18. Between mid-2018 and March 2025, county records show, the stink of pot and the "laundromat" smell of these systems generated more than 4,000 odor complaints to the county. None was ever enforced.
A year ago, the board warned the growers that they could risk losing their county business licenses if they failed to meet the deadline for scrubbers, But there was an out: If they encountered supply chain delays or problems with electrical upgrades, they could request a one-time extension of up to one year, including for their misting systems, the supervisors said.
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