Santa Barbara is so proud of itself for leading the charge on smoking bans (and everything else known to man), yet I work downtown and regularly see locals and tourists alike lighting up in high foot-traffic areas, without care or fear of consequences. If you want to see this blatant disregard firsthand, check out the alley between La Arcada and the adjacent parking garage. It is a vagrant hangout where cigarettes and marijuana are regularly (and ironically) toked within feet of a posted sign proclaiming Santa Barbara as a “smoke free city.” It’s laughable. What is the point of making laws if they are not going to be enforced?
