Preliminary rankings were released Thursday in Santa Barbara County’s search to select six cannabis dispensaries for each of its six unincorporated community areas.
There are 20 applicants who have made it to the final round and are vying for the six spots. The county ranked them based on “neighborhood compatibility” and site inspections. Only the top-ranked applicant in each area will be able to apply for a cannabis dispensary business license.
Now that the preliminary rankings for each area are out, any accepted applicant will have five business days after posting on the county’s website to file a written scoring protest with the County Executive Office, which will consider the scoring protests and come to a final ranking.
In the preliminary rankings, which can be found here, the Farmacy dispensary was ranked first in both areas it applied in — Isla Vista and Santa Ynez. The Farmacy already has its first dispensary located on Mission Street in Santa Barbara. Coastal, another Santa Barbara dispensary, came in a close second in Isla Vista.
The Orcutt area is undergoing a legal challenge and the county is complying with a stay order issued by the court on March 12. The preliminary ranked list for this area will be released once allowed by the court.
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