(some of you may have read this letter to the editor i wrote, but just in case you havent...) Lately, many people have been scared into voting yes on N for a number of reasons. One of the biggest reasons is the confusion between medicinal cultivators and marijuana growers. They think that everybody who produces marijuana is a grower with a big chunk of land, 100 pounds at the end of the year, making thousands of tax free dollars. They believe that just a small percentage of people cultivate medicinally, and they think that voting yes on N will stop all the crime and tax free money making associated with growers. But this is a huge misunderstanding and misrepresentation. A higher percentage of script holders in lake county are purely medicinal cultivators and arent profiting. They dont own large pieces of property therefore they only grow their 6 plants in their small backyards and that sustains them throughout the year. Undoubtedly there are a few commercial growers or large growers who run collectives with large amounts of plants and are profiting. This makes people angry because while their hard earned dollars are being taxed, these growers are living tax free. But the biggest misconception about measure N is that it will stop this type of growing. This is not true. Measure N states that if you own less than an acre or live in a community growth boundary, you get zero plants. This practically wipes out the medicinal cultivators that most people dont seem to have a huge problem with. Measure N also states that if you have less 20 acres you can only grow six, which eliminates the possibility of collectives for those with less than an acre. It also states if you have zoned land of 20 acres or more you can keep growing 48 just as you have always done. With these provisions, only those with a good amount of cash on hand can afford to keep growing, and if they can afford to keep growing, it leads us to believe that these are the “for profit” growers that everyone is complaining about. Measure N provides no solutions to those who are illegally growing in the hills, and it provides us with zero solutions as to somehow make large growers accountable for any profits they may be earning. Measure N will do nothing to solve the problems that people are having with growers. But there is a measure that will . A group called Unity Emerald Coalition has written an alternative ordinance , which will be placed on the November ballot and is a much better solution to the problems faced. It allows people with less than an acre to keep six plants, as long as they are not visible from the roadway, not near school, daycare etc, and allows anyone over an acre to have twelve, and so on and so forth. It is very similar to our emergency ordinance, except the ordinance coming in November require a tagging fee per plant for anyone growing over 12 plants. This money will be used to hire a team that is specific to monitoring and investigating nuisance grows and illegal grows. This way, our current code enforcement worker, Brandon Holleran, can go back to spending his time on building inspections, real code enforcement, and abatement to properties that are an eye sore to the residents of Lake County. Unlike the Board Of Supervisors proposed ordinance, the one on the November ballot has cost recovery built in, addresses trespass and nuisance grows, and holds all medicinal cultivators and commercial growers accountable. Now that these misunderstandings have been cleared up and youve learned a little more about your voting options, I hope youll make the just and smart choice in these up coming elections.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 18:55:41 +0000
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