Opinion Piece By Samuel Strait – November 4, 2018 –  I
cringe when I read the kinds of things that are omitted when talking
about cannabis.  I would hope that at least some time passes before an
ordinance is passed  with regard to commercial cannabis, because as some
county’s have learned in their rush to pass their ordinances, things
have a funny way of turning out in the most unexpected way.

While it would be relatively simple to post a comment regarding Robert
Derego’s rather simplistic view of things in Greenfield on California’s
Central Coast, it would be much more informative to locals who in less
than forty eight hours must weigh in on the County’s Board of
Supervisors quest to clarify the issue of taxing commercial cannabis
activities.  Robert starts his comment by stating that we already have
data on cannabis, without offering up just exactly what that data might
be.  He then points to the Loudpack operation in Greenfield, California,
where 20 acres of cannabis is in the process of being cultivated and
makes the claim that it is Greenfield’s largest employer with more to
come. While I won’t argue that any of this is is a fabrication, I will
say that this is only part of the story.

Greenfield, was a small, relatively impoverished city in California with
a need for an economic boost.  It, along with its nearby neighbor, King
City, ranks first and second in the State’s murder rankings (per capita)
as California’s Murder Capitals in the State.   Similarly, its reported
crime is ten percent higher than average for cities in California.
While only some of this depressing set of facts can be directly related
to cannabis activities since the State has legalized recreational pot,
it is not much of a place to start from when talking about cannabis as a
commercial product.

Robert, further, implies that commercial cannabis activities such as
Loudpack might increase the level of pay for those transferring from
service related jobs to the higher pay found in the cannabis industry,
but is that true?  Most jobs in the industry do not pay any more than
that of food service employment, minimum wage. Additionally, it has
recently been found that in some large scale commercial operations the
use of illegal aliens has actually depressed the wage level paid in the
area.  And a much less acceptable form of slave labor has turned up in
some cases.  More employment is generally a good thing, but low wage
employment often isn’t the attraction that it is meant to be.

Since Greenfield passed its initial set of ordinances other issues have
surfaced, the importance of a reasonable tax level for the City has
necessitated a restructuring of that schedule as well as a few other
changes.  There has been a growing level of push back by portions of the
local citizenry regarding Loudpack’s operation which has given the
City’s Council reason to reexamine it’s pilot program for large scale
operations in the City.  The City initially limited its venture to four
large scale grow operations, of which Loudpack was not one.  Loudpack
circumvented the City’s restriction of the four large scale operations
by taking out multiple small scale permits.  As such, small commercial
ventures have had difficulty gaining traction and in some cases have
reverted to black market operations that are lacking permits and do not
pay the tax.  While none of this represents a huge problem it does point
to ways that not all out comes can be accounted for by ordinance and a
prudent way to avoid the pit falls made in other counties is to wait and
learn.

I fully understand the impatience of those that are wanting the County
to ignore the obvious problems with commercial cannabis, that of
enforcement and permitting, but Del Norte County itself presents another
set of problems that will have to be addressed at some point.   For that
I would point to our neighbors in Humboldt County where the nightly news
has exposed a seemingly endless stream of permit less grows with
multiple code violations included.  The idea that California has
legalized recreational Cannabis does not mean criminal activity ceases.
It does not mean that commercial cannabis activities can exist
anywhere.  We do not have the luxury of large scale cannabis grows on
relatively flat open land.  Of course the 125 acres of wetland to be
made into another Del Norte County park might just fill the need of
land……….        Maybe?  As Humboldt County and Greenfield have
learned in their rush to get the ball rolling, it isn’t as easy as
Robert would like us to believe to have any sort of smooth transition.

There are a couple of other issues that I would like to expose which
thus far have not been talked about and that is whether or not the local
environmentalists will be quite as accepting of cannabis farming,
particularly in light of the seemingly constant association of water
contamination and usage, plus assorted other environmental code
violations that seem to plague unlicensed grows.  While I am not saying
that permitted grows or manufacturing will be violating various codes, I
am sure that the lily bulb farmers in Smith River Delta also felt like
they were above board and not in violation.  Of course the recent
articles in the Triplicate seem to indicate that they may be and changes
could very well be forced on them making a previously lucrative activity
cost prohibitive.   Something prospective pot farms might take into
consideration.

Finally, If Del Norte County puts together some sort of coherent
ordinance which satisfies most people here locally and there is a
surplus of tax income flowing into the County’s General Fund, can we
trust our local officials to spend the money wisely?  As we have seen on
numerous occasions over the last four plus decades, giving government
money doesn’t always equate to good things happening here, say a local
and cannabis funded  Last Chance Grade bypass anyone?  But enough of
being superficial, it is enough to say that contrary to Robert’s
statement that the “facts” are in, pretty clearly his example of
Greenfield’s adventure into commercial cannabis has not gone as smoothly
or profitably as the city’s fathers would have wished.  And then do we
really want a twenty acre sized commercial cannabis enterprise located
in the County?  I believe that pot as a windfall in this County may be
only in the minds of the Cannabis Working Group and we as a community
should perhaps look for something much more modest, after all twenty
five counties in California still have a ban on Commercial Cannabis
Activities.