More than a year ago, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors threatened to revoke the business license of every cannabis greenhouse operator in the Carpinteria Valley who failed to install state-of-the-art technology to control the stench of pot.
The deadline for compliance was March 18 this year, and the board turned down all requests for extensions. At the time, fully half of the 22 cannabis growers in the valley, a Mecca for the indoor industry, were operating with no odor control systems inside their greenhouses. The “skunky” smell of pot was escaping through the open roof vents and into people’s homes.
As the March deadline came and went, the County Executive Office mailed out notices of “intent to revoke” business licenses, and hearing dates were set for appeals in Los Angeles. A sort of last-minute stampede occurred, as growers rushed to install clean-air equipment and avoid a shutdown…