Tag archives: marijuana
Ever since the Santa Barbara Grand Jury issued its damning report last month on the explosion of cannabis cultivation in Santa Barbara County, a widening ripple of reaction has circled around Carpinteria, Goleta, and Buellton, where residents hope the controversy will aid their efforts to curtail the industry. As the Montecito Journal reported last week, […]
Das Williams, Santa Barbara’s First District Supervisor, suddenly found himself under a harsh, almost Perry Mason-style cross examination during a July 13 interview with Steve Chiotakis, host of KCRW’S Greater L.A. radio talk show. “Your campaign contributions come from pot lobbyists trying to grow weed,” Chiotakis scoffed at one point. “And look, it’s legal, yeah, […]
On June 30, Santa Barbara’s Grand Jury released an historic, scathing report detailing alleged official malfeasance by the Board of Supervisors as it sought to regulate cannabis over the past three years, particularly in Carpinteria but also in North County wine country. By law, the report mentioned no names and took no stand on the […]
You might recognize the Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis from various letters to the editor and reader-submitted editorials that have run in the Montecito Journal, Carpinteria’s Coastal View News, and other local newspapers in Santa Barbara county. Although the group claims not to oppose cannabis per se, its members have consistently decried what they […]
A long–simmering conflict over cannabis odor and pesticide use continues in Carpinteria Smell, What Smell? On a recent afternoon, Hans Brand steers his electric golf cart-type vehicle from the main office of his Carpinteria cannabis farm to a sprawling greenhouse that seems big enough to fit a football field inside it. Inside the structure, at […]
Water to the Wealthy Last Monday, I attended the Montecito Journal hosted debate between Sup. Das Williams and his opponent Laura Capps, president of the SB School Board. During the debate, I became aware how Montecito struggles to obtain sufficient water. I was not aware that over 80% of Montecito water comes from out of […]
Inaugural Event a Success Congratulations to the Montecito Journal on a very successful and well attended 1st District Supervisor Debate. The evening was informative, professional, well organized, and even had some humor sprinkled in. Although free to those of us in the audience, I’m confident that even with the support from the Montecito Association, the […]
Only in California is it possible for two accomplished Democrats, with near perfect party pedigrees, to run for one job to represent the voters of District 1 as a Supervisor for Santa Barbara County. Political pundits promise that this year’s race for the District 1 seat between the incumbent Das Williams and the challenger Laura […]
Enough is Enough Conversation following Mt. Carmel’s school Christmas program, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Carpinteria, should have been about the adorable children and plans for the holidays. Instead, it instantly moved to concern about the near contact-high adults and children alike were experiencing that night in the Church. The odor of cannabis in […]
I’ve spent a good part of my life in a fog. In my brief stint as a Hippie, the fog was often associated with the inhalation of marijuana or as we referred to it then – grass. Sometimes I think it actually was grass we purchased. “Is that a dandelion?” “Might be. You feel anything […]
The Smell of Excess Bob Hazard in his recent column (“Election Intrigue in Montecito,” MJ # 25/29) described me as “a noted investigative reporter [and] an anti-cannabis crusader,” which is not exactly the case. Like the majority of those in Santa Barbara County, I voted for Prop 64 (and, in my case even Das Williams). […]
The Santa Barbara Medical Cannabis Conference and Expo – which would have been the first of its kind in the tri-county area save for a similar if smaller event held in Ojai last weekend – explores the science, and a bit of the spirituality, behind cannabis and CBD and their ability to heal ailments of […]
The Mind and Supermind series from SBCC School of Extended Learning (aka Adult Ed) has a 35-year history of presenting dynamic speakers and accomplished authors on cutting-edge topics of human psychology in all of its facets and implications. Among the previous speakers over the years have been Deepak Chopra, Byron Katie (creator of The Work), […]
Archie’s Last Days I just had a neighbor say… “Why would you let them print this (“The Last Days of Archie McLaren,” MJ # 25/15)?” My answer even surprised me. Archie wanted this story told so dying people had a choice. He actually requested me to find someone just weeks before he died. So back […]
Also on the horizon before the opening of the Music Academy’s impressive eight-week 2019 Summer Music Festival in mid-June is the recital featuring the 2018 Marilyn Horne Song Competition Winners mezzo-soprano Kelsey Lauritano and pianist Andrew Sun at Hahn Hall on May 24. The singer joined the Oper Frankfurt studio last September two months after […]
Good Times Rolling Has anyone noticed that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is closing in on returning to its previous unprecedented high in the high 26s. When it sunk a few months ago to almost 22,000, the mainstream media was heralding the end of the “Trump Economy.” Now, there’s (almost) nothing in the way of […]
Private use of marijuana for recreational purposes is now legal for adults living in Montecito. Recreational use of marijuana for those 21 years and older was approved overwhelmingly by state’s voters in November 2016. The legal sale of adult-use cannabis projects at recreational dispensaries licensed by the California Bureau of Cannabis Control took effect on […]
We are sending this email to all our friends and family who have reached out to us in regard to the Montecito fire and mudslide tragedies and evacuations. The story begins over a month ago, when Lynda and I were forced to evacuate our Romero Canyon home due to the largest wildfire in California history. Three […]
Climate change is happening whether one “believes” in it or not, and 97 percent of climate scientists agree that human activity is the cause. Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have dug up past living things and burned them, something that has thrown off the balance under which life as we know it has evolved. Carbon […]
