California flower town wrestles with odor amid shift to pot

CARPINTERIA, Calif. (AP) — There’s something in the air of the idyllic seaside Southern California town of Carpinteria (CAHR’-pihn-tehr-ee-uh), and residents say it stinks.

A skunk-like odor cropped up as the local marijuana industry blossomed.

Carpinteria is in Santa Barbara County, which has the state’s most marijuana cultivation licenses. Many are for greenhouses long used to grow flowers. That industry shifted to South America after U.S. government efforts to encourage farmers there to grow flowers instead of the plant used to make cocaine.

Carpinteria gained a name as an ideal place for growing cannabis due to its weather and abundance of greenhouses.

The county has drafted rules to reduce odor problems, and many growers have installed systems aimed at clearing the air. Residents hope that will make the difference in the scenic coastal community with a lengthy history of farming.