The world’s largest pot farms, and how Santa Barbara opened the door

The cannabis boom has caused a backlash from residents and vintners afflicted by the smell
Los Angeles Times (US)
Saturday, June 15, 2019

In a sandy draw of the Santa Rita Hills, a cannabis company is planning to erect hoop greenhouses over 147 acres — the size of 130 football fields — to create the largest legal marijuana grow on Earth in the Santa Barbara County’s famed wine region. Lobbied heavily by the marijuana industry, Santa Barbara County officials opened the door to big cannabis interests in the last two years like no other county in the nation, setting off a largely unregulated rush of planting in a region not previously known for the crop. County supervisors voted not to limit the size and number of marijuana grows. They chose not to vet growers’ applications for licenses or conduct site inspections.