A medical marijuana farmer who stepped to the microphone at a recent Calaveras County Board of Supervisors meeting had a message for new elected officials who are likely to make some big decisions in the new year:
"We are not all animals," grower Beth Wittke said. "We are good, hardworking people who just want to help the sick people who can’t grow for themselves."
The future of Wittke’s newly regulated industry is in doubt, however, after voters sent packing two county supervisors who last year supported temporary rules that allow existing commercial medical marijuana farms to continue operating.
Two other supervisors who also supported the rules did not run for re-election, meaning an almost entirely new board will evaluate the cannabis controversy with fresh eyes come January.
Calaveras voters also rejected a proposal to make the rules permanent, and some citizens plan to submit a petition for a ballot initiative in the coming months that would effectively ban commercial cultivation.
Opponents of marijuana farming viewed the outcome in November as a clear statement that the people do not want commercial pot operations in Calaveras County. Proposition 64, passed by voters across California, legalizes recreational marijuana use but doesn’t resolve the local dispute over commercial farms.
"No one on the committee has any false thoughts of success at this point. We know it’s going to be a battle," said marijuana opponent and activist Bill McManus. "But I’m optimistic that things will turn out well."
People have been growing marijuana quietly in Calaveras County for decades. But last year’s catastrophic Butte Fire destroyed the trees and brush that formerly shielded some of those farms, which are now more visible and prone to public scrutiny.
The fire also encouraged prospectors to buy up charred land for new farms. At the same time, a new state law allowed the county to consider regulating commercial medical marijuana for the first time, which supervisors saw as a way to stop the land rush and protect the environment while also bringing in new tax revenue.
But the rules they put in place were temporary, and considering the results of the election, the future is very much uncertain.
While the political landscape in Calaveras changes, the rules themselves have proven cumbersome for understaffed county agencies. Last year’s marijuana crop was harvested months ago, but officials have managed to begin the review process for only about 40 percent of the 737 applications submitted by farmers.
"We just have not been able to get to them due to the huge number and the staffing availability that we have," said Peter Maurer, the county’s planning director.
Other departments are affected, too. To be registered, farms must be checked by code inspectors accompanied by law enforcement. Only about 106 of those inspections had been conducted as of mid-December.
Supervisors recently approved entering into a $50,000 contract with the California Highway Patrol to help expedite the inspections. The money will come from $3.7 million in registration fees paid by farmers who have sought permits.
But to this point, the rules seem to be a slow exercise in paperwork, McManus said, while hundreds of complaints about marijuana farms have been received from across the county.
"People are living next to a problem. They would like something done about it, but paperwork doesn’t seem to be accomplishing that goal for them. So they’re frustrated," McManus said.
Marijuana advocates say the solution is not to go backward by abandoning the rules, but to press forward with the promise of millions of dollars in tax revenue for years to come – money that could help hire more staff and improve enforcement.
For supporters, the lone bright spot in November was the passage of a measure to tax marijuana farms in Calaveras. The first payments would come due in spring 2017. That is, if Calaveras doesn’t reverse course entirely and ban commercial farms.
"The sheriff and the county really need this money," said Tom Liberty, a Stockton native who farms marijuana outside Mountain Ranch. "We have the chance to be one of the most prosperous counties in the U.S."
A retreat will force many farmers to move out of the county, Liberty said, despite having paid $5,000 to apply for a growing permit and, in some cases, having spent much more than that on infrastructure for their farms.
If they leave, who will take their place? Methamphetamine manufacturers, Liberty says.
Despite the election results, he sounded hopeful about the future, noting that there is still time to meet with the new elected officials and other marijuana opponents to tell their side of the story. Liberty pointed to Supervisor Michael Oliveira, who opposed the current regulations but voted recently in support of the $50,000 CHP contract to allow inspections to continue. Oliveira, a former law enforcement officer, said at the time that he wanted to give growers who had paid their fees "a fair shake."
"Most of the people who are ‘against us’ are not bad people," Liberty said. "They’re not stupid people. They’re just people who have never had dinner with some of the growers up here. They don’t know that the growers are some of the same people they may already know."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Calaveras County Marijuana Farmers Face Uncertain Future
Author: Alex Breitler
Contact: (209) 943-6568
Photo Credit: Clifford Oto
Website: Recornet
