Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Breaking - Oakland votes to permit large marijuana farms

From Associated Press/MSNBC (via BreakingNews on Twitter):

"The Oakland City Council voted 5-2 with one abstention late Tuesday in favor of a plan to license four production plants where marijuana would be grown, packaged and processed."

"One of the co-sponsors of the ordinance, Rebecca Kaplan, said the ordinance would not take effect until January, giving the council time to come up with a plan for medium-sized growers."

"The measure will go before the council one more time for a final vote, but the outcome isn't expected to change."

I'm hearing a lot of worries that this is a sign of things to come, that this pushing out of small growers is exactly what we can expect if Prop 19 passes in the fall.  I admit the possibility, but I don't believe it.  A few things to keep in mind:

First, one of the guys looking out for the smaller growers is Stephen DeAngelo, director of the largest dispensary in the world, who was quoted as saying, "Any new system that is created needs to have a role for these pioneers." The Oakland Council, as quoted above, does intend to look at plans for smaller growers.  While obviously money is a big factor (one proposed facility boasted it could hire 371 employees and pay over $1.5 million in taxes), they also cited safety and crime as concerns, and the rationale for the hefty $211,000 fee is to provide funding for health and safety regulations and inspections.  Indoor cannabis cultivation definitely has its dangers, especially hydroponics-- it's a potentially deadly combination of high-wattage lights (that become major fire hazards if not wired and ventilated properly) and water, not to mention the array of often poisonous nutrients, pesticides, and fungicides required to keep your crop healthy.  If these concerns have been addressed with regard to medium-sized growers, I think Oakland will say, the more the merrier.  They have nothing to lose by collecting more money.

Next, assume, for the sake of argument, they don't approve any plans for smaller growers.  This is one city, in one county of California.  It has no legal effect on any other cities or counties.  Proposition 19 only allows this kind of commercial permitting and regulation on a city or county basis.  If the Oakland model doesn't work-- or you just don't like it-- lobby and vote to keep it out of your corner of the woods. Oakland's current model (the new one won't take effect until January) has not been copied anywhere else, that I know of.  Why do we automatically assume this one will be?

Third, these growers don't seem to really understand, or care, that they are painting gigantic bulls-eyes on themselves for the DEA.  The same facility above that estimates it will net $1.5 million in taxes for Oakland also plans to produce 58 pounds of cannabis per day.  Per day.  Just this month, a Mendocino county woman was raided for 99 plants.  She had a local permit too; the DEA didn't care.  Bet your (giant cannabis) farm they'll be watching this closely.  The Obama administration only said they would leave alone providers "in clear and unambiguous compliance with state law."  But these large (and even medium) scale growers are not in such "clear and unambiguous compliance" and never have been.  Los Angeles and San Diego have both called into serious question whether medical cannabis sales are legal under Prop 215 at all.

Proposition 19 doesn't just give you the ability to vote now to end prohibition, it continues to place the power as close to the people as possible by giving it to the most local authorities.  No one ever said it would be over after November if Proposition 19 passes.  It will continue to be up to us, the people, to make sure the new laws are the ones we want.

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