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Hundreds attend the grand opening celebration of Dr. Greenthumb’s cannabis dispensary Dec. 7 in Orcutt.
Dispensary brand owner B-Real cuts the green ribbon Dec. 7 during Dr. Greenthumb’s grand opening celebration in Orcutt.
City Reporter
Hundreds attend the grand opening celebration of Dr. Greenthumb’s cannabis dispensary Dec. 7 in Orcutt.
Dispensary brand owner B-Real cuts the green ribbon Dec. 7 during Dr. Greenthumb’s grand opening celebration in Orcutt.
Dr. Greenthumb’s cannabis dispensary, which opened its doors in Orcutt in December, is the third of six approved dispensary locations in unincorporated Santa Barbara County to open.
The dispensary, located at 1604 East Clark Ave, Ste. 101, opened Dec. 7, and is the second in the Santa Maria Valley. Root One, operated by SLO CAL Roots, opened in Guadalupe at 928 Guadalupe St. as the Valley’s first storefront cannabis business in mid-October.
The six county dispensaries are located in unincorporated areas across specific community plans: Eastern Goleta Valley, Isla Vista, Los Alamos, Orcutt, Santa Ynez, and Toro Canyon/Summerland. While three locations — Isla Vista, Orcutt, and Santa Ynez — are open, the Eastern Goleta Valley, Los Alamos and Toro Canyon/Summerland locations are in various stages of the application, permitting and building process, said Carmela Beck, program manager for the county executive office, cannabis division.
Beck said dispensary approval is based on Chapter 50, Section 50-7 of the county’s regulations, particularly Section 50-7(b), which details the limits and procedures for issuing licenses for retail storefronts.
“The cannabis ordinance … stipulates that no more than six storefront retail cannabis operations may be licensed by the county with a cannabis business license at any time to avoid excessive concentration of dispensaries in the county,” Beck said.
Two months prior to the noticing the criteria-based application and submission process, county staff conducted public meetings in each community plan area to request community input and priorities for the cannabis storefront retail selection, Beck said.
After gathering input, the county posted the resulting list of priorities, which applicants then used to guide their proposals.
The criteria-based application process is rigorous, requiring applicants to score at least 85% to be considered qualified.
“Each accepted application must receive a score of 85 percent or greater to be considered a qualified application,” Beck said.
Applications are ranked based on both the business proposal and the neighborhood compatibility plan.
“Ranking shall be weighted as follows: 10 percent based on the application as a whole and 90 percent based on the neighborhood compatibility plan,” Beck said.
The Orcutt dispensary, Beck noted, followed the steps outlined in the county’s guidelines, and was the highest ranked application in the Orcutt Community Plan Area.
“They obtained their land use permit, submitted and obtained a business license permit and obtained DCC licensure,” she said.
Ensuring that dispensaries integrate well into their communities is another key concern requiring a customer education plan, community education plan, community involvement plan, neighborhood design compatibility plan, odor control plan and parking plan, Beck said.
Dr. Greenthumb’s provides a convenient option for local residents, and has received positive feedback from the community, especially from Santa Maria residents who benefit from its closer location, said Thomas Casarez, the dispensary’s general manager.
The store aims to actively engage with the community by supporting local businesses and promoting events. It offers a wide range of cannabis products for diverse needs — sleep aids to pain relief — in a “grocery store model,” which allows customers to browse and receive assistance from knowledgeable staff. Additionally, the dispensary aims to ease skepticism by educating visitors.
“I would say, come on in. You don’t necessarily need to buy anything,” Casarez said, encouraging visitors to see the security and regulation that surrounds cannabis sales. “Every product that is sold in the state of California has a third-party testing label on it for all kinds of contaminants and pesticides to ensure you are consuming a clean product,” he said.
April Chavez is the Santa Maria City Reporter for the Santa Maria Times. If you have information, or a story idea that you would like to share, send her an email at AChavez@SantaMariaTimes.com.
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