Pubdate: Tue, 06 Oct 2015
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Ukiah Daily Journal
Contact: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/feedback
Website: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/581
Author: Kate Maxwell

AD HOC COMMITTEE REFLECTS ON CANNABIS LEGISLATIONS

Historic New Cannabis Legislation Approved by the State Legislature 
Last Month Includes a Dual-Tiered System

A combination of three different proposed bills, the legislation is 
lengthy and intended to improve the regulatory structure of 
specifically medical cannabis production, distribution, and sale 
within the state. The bill reclassifies cannabis as an agricultural 
crop regulated primarily under the Department of Food & Agriculture, 
but includes coordination with a range of state agencies in the new guidelines.

The governor has until October 11 to sign or request alterations to 
the bill, and if it is approved, various agencies and the newly 
created "Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation" will begin to 
determine various specifics and methods of implementation, taking 
effect in 2017. Many statewide advocacy groups are also in the 
process of drafting language to create recreational "adult use" 
initiatives for cannabis legalization, some version of which is 
widely expected to pass during the November, 2016 elections.

In Mendocino county, local officials and cultivator groups have been 
working to analyze how the pending legislation will impact the local 
cannabis economy. Estimates have been made that over two thirds of 
local residents participate in some way in the cannabis industry, and 
put the number of cultivation sites in the county at more than 
10,000. Humboldt County supervisors are working with the advocacy 
group California Cannabis Voice Humboldt and environmental 
organizations to develop a Humboldt County ordinance.

Mendocino supervisors Tom Woodhouse and John McCowan, who stand on 
the county's Ad Hoc Cannabis Committee, spoke with The Willits News 
on Wednesday to provide some insight into their plan for assessing 
the local import of the new legislation.

The supervisors said the most recent ad hoc committee meeting with 
County CEO Carmel Angelo occurred on Tuesday to begin a preliminary 
review of the new state legislation. "There are a number of issues 
which need to be clarified," said McCowan, and "part of the intention 
is to work with county staff to identify specific areas that need 
clarification."

McCowan said he had heard north coast Assemblyman Jim Wood, an author 
of one of the three bills included in the new state regulations, 
planned to introduce "clean-up" legislation in January. In an email 
from Wood's office, Paul Ramey said Wood "is certainly interested and 
willing to take up cleanup language. We won't be able to nail down 
specifics until after we see what the governor does and coordinate 
with the other authors."

The reclassification of cannabis cultivation from nuisance 
regulations to an agricultural framework is one regulatory component 
which many local cannabis producers and advocates have been 
requesting on local, state, and federal levels with the aim of 
protecting small farms and the rural producer economy they say is 
essential to the county's economy. "This classification gives us a 
fair shake at seeking equality....farmers don't lose any 
constitutional rights, " said Pebbles Trippet, representative from 
the Mendocino Cannabis Policy Council (MCPC).

The supervisors said that re-designation presented its own issues 
that needed clarification. "The California Department of Food & 
Agriculture has been tasked with numerous new duties, including 
coordination with various other agencies," explained McCowan.

Woodhouse said the amongst other county staff, the ad hoc committee 
had been in contact with Mendocino Agriculture Commissioner Chuck 
Morse, who had provided a list of specific questions or points of 
clarification he saw with the new designation.

McCowan said that the ad hoc committee planned to provide a report on 
its ongoing research during the supervisors' reports in an upcoming 
meeting this month, and that the next step was a planned presentation 
to the supervisors with a legislative advocate, Paul Smith of the 
Regional Council of Rural Counties. Smith's presentation is planned 
for October or November, and the full board will be able to ask 
questions and discuss the issues.

The ad hoc committee participated in a six-county summit on cannabis 
issues this spring, which included representatives from Mendocino, 
Humboldt, Trinity, Del Norte, Sonoma, and Lake counties. On May 5 the 
Mendocino Board of Supervisors adopted the regional policy statement 
developed in that summit. The policy statement requested the 
preservation of local county control, right to enact local taxes, 
environmental protection, and a "chain-of-custody" system that would 
enable local branding and regional appellations, like those in place 
for vineyards, and many of these recommendations are included in the 
new statewide regulations.

Woodhouse said the ad hoc committee planned to reconvene those 
regional partners to discuss the issues with the new legislation. "It 
makes sense to go back and meet again," he said, "ideally we will be 
in a unified position when we go to the state with clarification."

McCowan said the committee would meet with full board of supervisors 
once the ad hoc committee had specific recommendations, and that they 
were "very intent on making sure we do have a state compliant local 
program so we can control our own destiny as much as possible, so we 
don't have to default to state regulations - we have the support of 
the CEO on that." The state regulations provide for a dual system of 
licensure on both state and local levels, and requires compliance 
with county ordinances as well as state regulations. Counties can opt 
out of the regulations or ban cannabis activity as well.

Both supervisors emphasized that they would take as much time as 
necessary to figure out the issues as best as possible before 
crafting a county ordinance, which would be done in coordination with 
the full board and involve public input via open public meetings.

Woodhouse explained that while many local groups had reached out to 
the supervisors, the committee was not planning on meeting with local 
stakeholders soon, but that " we're gathering information from a 
variety of sources...anything that anyone wants to send us in 
writing, feel free."

McCowan added, " Different groups can craft whatever they want in 
terms of initiatives, promote and develop them, but really the board 
of supes will be crafting the county ordinance."

Representatives of local cannabis advocacy groups the MCPC and the 
Emerald Growers Association (now California Growers Association) have 
expressed their desire to see the supervisors adopt some components 
of the new state regulations, including the agricultural designation 
and parts of the liscensing components. Plant counts are another 
issue that local groups have expressed concern about due to higher 
allowed numbers in neighboring counties like Sonoma and Humboldt.

Said Trippet, "they need to be conscientious of consulting the people 
they'll be regulating, and be aware of the fear and trauma over forty 
years - there's a resistance that's justified. We want regulations 
that we can believe in, that paint us as stewards of the environment, 
for water use, using the best practices and organic methods that a 
lot of us are already doing..there's a significant number of people 
that will be regulated or stay in the shadows depending on how 
welcoming the regulations are."

Jude Thilman of the MCPC said the group was working on developing two 
county initiatives, one that one reclassify cannabis cultivation 
under agriculture, and another to establish an advisory committee. 
The MCPC proposed a similar initiative this spring for the county but 
did not gain enough signatures for the upcoming ballot. Thilman said 
the group would be working in coordination with others to draft 
ordinances and may present them this month. MCPC's Trippet said that 
Joe Rogoway, a Santa Rosa Attorney formerly with the county's 
District Attorney's office and active in cannabis policy, had 
contacted the group to work on developing a local initiative.

On September 30, raids were conducted in northern Mendocino in the 
Spy Rock and Bell Springs Road area near Laytonville, with several 
local residents arrested. Many residents expressed concern over how 
to demonstrate their desire for compliance while differences in 
county and state regulations are being worked out and changing 
regulations lacked local clarifications. Trippet said that while 
supervisors were still considering a new county policy, cultivators 
needed to know how to be in compliance and change needed to happen 
soon: "it's a lot of busts and lives ruined in the meantime."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom