Santa Cruz County adopts pot regulations that also protect neighbors

“I’m a living kidney donor, I only have one kidney, I gave one away a few years ago, and so I can’t use Ibuprofen as a chronic pain-management tool,” said Seth Smith with the Santa Cruz Veterans Alliance, an organization that gives vets free medical cannabis.

“I’ve actually never tried any cannabis products,” Aptos resident Becky Steinbruner said.

Patients or spectators, Santa Cruz’s pot moves are gaining support.

“People brew beer, people make their own wine, so they should be able to do this as well,” Steinbruner said.

For the Santa Cruz Veterans Alliance, getting a dispensary license means helping those in need.

“A number of our veteran members are self-transiting to cannabis and away from harmful opioids and other harmful drugs,” Smith said.

Industry experts are weighing in with some tips for growers.

“What you put in is what you get out. So if you are really attentive to these plants, you really put in that green thrum and try to be the best land steward you can be, these plants will … reflect that. What you put in, they give back four folds,” said Christopher Carr with KindPeoples Collective, a Santa Cruz based dispensary.

Depending on the genetics, some of these plants can grow up to 16 feet tall and yield a pound of flower per plant.

But the Santa Cruz county Board of Supervisors are putting some restrictions on where people can grow to protect neighbors. Any structure or outdoor area used for cannabis cultivation must be locked and out of sight to the public, and those who grow also have to be 21 or older.

While individuals are allowed to grow or give their seeds away, it’s still illegal to sell seeds and clones. Growers will have to go to a dispensary with a doctor’s note to make those purchases.