In a significant course correction this week, the county Board of Supervisors cut $1.4 million from its cannabis budget, taking the knife to administration, auditing, planning review and especially law enforcement.

Voting 4-0 on Tuesday, with 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson absent, the supervisors settled on $5.3 million for cannabis-related spending in 2025-26, or 20 percent less than what they had previously budgeted.

They raised the growers’ licensing fees, too, to make ends meet.

It was a belated attempt to “right-size” a program in which the county’s ongoing, or fixed cannabis costs have exceeded revenues for three consecutive years, requiring the use of carryover cannabis funding to make up the difference.

“The program is evolving and we’re seeing a lot of attrition and we’re

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