Santa Cruz County has its first cannabis czar.
Daniel Peterson, 55, who has spent his career as a water resources engineer for Yuba and Sutter counties, started Monday as the Santa Cruz cannabis licensing official, overseeing an industry operating in the shadows that now has an opportunity to become legitimate.
“Call me Dan,” he said. “I’m very approachable. I have a desire to meet everybody who’s a stakeholder.”
Peterson, whose salary is $134,000, was chosen from more than 100 applicants.
His previous job involved public outreach on the issue of flood insurance and involvement in marijuana enforcement. The latter led to him writing his master’s thesis on medical marijuana registration and distribution from the perspective of cities and counties.
