SANTA CRUZ — In the second year of legal recreational cannabis, hopes that Santa Cruz County could generate a surplus of tax revenue from licensing local pot growers and manufacturers have so far failed to manifest.
In fact, Santa Cruz County Cannabis Licensing Office has been unable to generate enough revenue from cannabis cultivators and manufacturers to sustain the program itself. And to date, not a single cultivation license has been granted even as temporary state licenses and local authorizations are on the verge of expiring.
With the viability of the county’s fledgling cannabis licensing program appearing in jeopardy, officials now plan to put forward a slate of proposed changes to ease the way for cannabis growers to set up shop — especially on land already zoned for commercial agricultural use.
