Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Calaveras County - This marijuana grow on a hilltop near Mountain Ranch is nothing like the nasty ones you've heard about on the news, those garbage-strewn plantations hidden deep in the forest, guarded by armed cartels.
Here there are no piles of trash, no chemicals dribbling into creeks, no hoses stealing water.
These plants grow in containers spaced apart in even rows. The water comes from a well. A fence protects the crop from thieves, and the grow is shielded from neighbors.
It's not really a grow. It's a farm - one of 740 pot farms across Calaveras County whose operators have sought approval in recent months to cultivate marijuana commercially for medicinal purposes.
People have been growing marijuana for decades in the hidden corners of Calaveras, but they did so quietly and discreetly. Now a complex sequence of events has shined a light on their activities and has deeply divided the mostly conservative community.
"Cannabis is the backbone of the economy right now, and I think that it can take Calaveras County from what has historically been one of the poorest counties in our state into one of, if not the most prosperous county," said 52-year-old Tom Liberty, a Stockton native who left his career as a youth counselor to become a full-time marijuana farmer.
He thinks Calaveras could become the Napa Valley of cannabis.
"We could be growing cannabis for the rest of the nation at some point," Liberty said.
For others, the county's decision earlier this year to regulate existing marijuana farms rather than ban them altogether was a great disappointment. Stories abound in Calaveras of people encountering growers with guns, of vicious guard dogs threatening neighbors, of the stench of marijuana seeping into neighbors' homes during the daytime while at night they endure the sound of grinding power generators.
"People are being terrorized, and they want their county back," said Bill McManus, a 66-year-old retired general contractor who was collecting signatures on Wednesday to force a special election in early 2017 and ban marijuana once and for all.
'Totally overwhelmed'
How did things get to this point? It's a long story. The short version is that a new state law passed last year created a licensing program for marijuana growers at the state level. The law, however, allowed counties to adopt their own local rules or to ban cultivation outright.
At the urging of a well-organized group of cannabis growers, Calaveras was one of the few counties in the state to approve its own temporary rules. They required growers to pay a $5,000 registration fee, undergo criminal background checks, cap their farms at a certain size and take action to lessen their impact on the environment and on their neighbors.
Those who did not apply by June 30 would be considered out of compliance, so the rules were also a way to prevent even more farms from sprouting.
This news was not lost on growers in other parts of the state, who hurried to Calaveras to purchase land and start their own farms here before the deadline. Lands blackened by the Butte Fire were converted into emerald oases. The fire also took out the trees and brush that once provided cover for the existing farms, creating the perception, at least, that marijuana growing had exploded virtually overnight.
County officials initially expected anywhere from 200 to 300 applications for legal cultivation. By the time the deadline arrived, they'd received 740, though some applications were incomplete and have been denied.
"What we got totally overwhelmed us and surprised us all," county Planning Director Peter Maurer told supervisors recently.
Nearly $4 million in fees collected from the growers is supposed to pay for 29 new county employees to manage and enforce the fledgling rules. And Measure C, a ballot measure that will go before voters next month, would tax the growers and could raise at least $10 million per year to pay for other needs around the county.
Voters will also decide the fate of Measure D, which would make many of the new rules permanent and would expand the regulations to include the manufacturing, testing, distribution and transportation of cannabis.
But perhaps the biggest battle is one that will be fought next year, when the proposed ban could go before voters. It will be a test for marijuana farmers who have tried to reassure the community that regulating pot will encourage responsible growers while raising money to stomp out the guys with guns.
No one knows how that vote might turn out. And with the possibility of high turnover on the Board of Supervisors this election, it's unclear if future elected officials will put permanent rules in place or reverse course entirely.
Changing landscape
For now, there are obvious signs of conflict as the county finds itself in transition.
Sheriff's officials told Calaveras supervisors recently that citizens have registered 213 marijuana-related complaints so far this year. A record 61,467 illegal plants have been destroyed. And some of those applying for the required background checks to become legal growers have been deceitful, law enforcement officials said.
There has also been a series of high-profile crimes involving marijuana. Four men from Modesto were allegedly held against their will for five months, forced to work on a large plantation near West Point. They were beaten, their lives threatened. They finally made a nighttime escape and alerted authorities.
Patrice Murphy moved from the Sacramento area to Calaveras County just two years ago, not knowing what was about to happen. Then she started spotting the odd-looking plastic sheets over fences that are now a telltale sign of a marijuana farm.
One day she was walking her dog when a shot whizzed past, she said. She doesn't believe she was intentionally targeted, but said she often hears gunshots from what she believes to be marijuana growers.
"The atmosphere in this county has definitely changed in the past year," Murphy said. "The whole landscape has changed. But I really want to emphasize that the biggest grief and sorrow in all this is the unsafe conditions that the children are in. They can't even play outside, and that's not right."
It is evident that some community leaders have similar worries. On Thursday, school superintendents held a special forum to share their "concerns for the youth of Calaveras County related to marijuana cultivation and accessibility."
Squelching a stereotype
In time, with proper regulation and enforcement, these fears will diminish, Liberty says.
With the buds thick and full and the marijuana harvest well underway, he visited another farm last week where 28-year-old Dana Evanoff, from Colorado, has been living in an RV all summer tending the crop on behalf of the farmer.
It's Evanoff's third season working in California; last year, he was in the Garberville area.
His mother visited once. "She was assuming it would be a bunch of burned-out hippies," Evanoff said with a smile. "But she said she had a lot of intelligent conversations with people."
Some longtime Calaveras residents haven't yet grown accustomed to their new neighbors, some of whom may be dirty from the harvest or wearing their hair in dreadlocks.
Evanoff defies the pot-grower stereotype in a couple of ways. He has short hair, for one. He also has a degree in molecular biology. He couldn't stand the thought of working in some laboratory under fluorescent lights, so instead, he chooses to work in the peaceful forest under the hot California sun.
"I spend seven days a week working my (butt) off, and it does give me a sense of accomplishment," he said.
And when he's not working, he heads down to Sender's Market in Mountain Ranch, where he spends his money and contributes to the local economy.
Liberty, who lost his home and his crop in the Butte Fire, hopes to earn enough profit this year to begin rebuilding.
"This is a dying county," he said. "Cannabis has completely revitalized that. And it's not just about pot: It's about roads and bridges, it's about wells, it's about food, restaurants, tourism. It's happening right now, and it's our future."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: 'Cannabis County' - Some See Green, Some See Red As Calaveras Pot Industry Explodes
Author: Alex Breitler
Contact: (209) 943-6568
Photo Credit: Clifford Oto
Website: Recordnet
Here there are no piles of trash, no chemicals dribbling into creeks, no hoses stealing water.
These plants grow in containers spaced apart in even rows. The water comes from a well. A fence protects the crop from thieves, and the grow is shielded from neighbors.
It's not really a grow. It's a farm - one of 740 pot farms across Calaveras County whose operators have sought approval in recent months to cultivate marijuana commercially for medicinal purposes.
People have been growing marijuana for decades in the hidden corners of Calaveras, but they did so quietly and discreetly. Now a complex sequence of events has shined a light on their activities and has deeply divided the mostly conservative community.
"Cannabis is the backbone of the economy right now, and I think that it can take Calaveras County from what has historically been one of the poorest counties in our state into one of, if not the most prosperous county," said 52-year-old Tom Liberty, a Stockton native who left his career as a youth counselor to become a full-time marijuana farmer.
He thinks Calaveras could become the Napa Valley of cannabis.
"We could be growing cannabis for the rest of the nation at some point," Liberty said.
For others, the county's decision earlier this year to regulate existing marijuana farms rather than ban them altogether was a great disappointment. Stories abound in Calaveras of people encountering growers with guns, of vicious guard dogs threatening neighbors, of the stench of marijuana seeping into neighbors' homes during the daytime while at night they endure the sound of grinding power generators.
"People are being terrorized, and they want their county back," said Bill McManus, a 66-year-old retired general contractor who was collecting signatures on Wednesday to force a special election in early 2017 and ban marijuana once and for all.
'Totally overwhelmed'
How did things get to this point? It's a long story. The short version is that a new state law passed last year created a licensing program for marijuana growers at the state level. The law, however, allowed counties to adopt their own local rules or to ban cultivation outright.
At the urging of a well-organized group of cannabis growers, Calaveras was one of the few counties in the state to approve its own temporary rules. They required growers to pay a $5,000 registration fee, undergo criminal background checks, cap their farms at a certain size and take action to lessen their impact on the environment and on their neighbors.
Those who did not apply by June 30 would be considered out of compliance, so the rules were also a way to prevent even more farms from sprouting.
This news was not lost on growers in other parts of the state, who hurried to Calaveras to purchase land and start their own farms here before the deadline. Lands blackened by the Butte Fire were converted into emerald oases. The fire also took out the trees and brush that once provided cover for the existing farms, creating the perception, at least, that marijuana growing had exploded virtually overnight.
County officials initially expected anywhere from 200 to 300 applications for legal cultivation. By the time the deadline arrived, they'd received 740, though some applications were incomplete and have been denied.
"What we got totally overwhelmed us and surprised us all," county Planning Director Peter Maurer told supervisors recently.
Nearly $4 million in fees collected from the growers is supposed to pay for 29 new county employees to manage and enforce the fledgling rules. And Measure C, a ballot measure that will go before voters next month, would tax the growers and could raise at least $10 million per year to pay for other needs around the county.
Voters will also decide the fate of Measure D, which would make many of the new rules permanent and would expand the regulations to include the manufacturing, testing, distribution and transportation of cannabis.
But perhaps the biggest battle is one that will be fought next year, when the proposed ban could go before voters. It will be a test for marijuana farmers who have tried to reassure the community that regulating pot will encourage responsible growers while raising money to stomp out the guys with guns.
No one knows how that vote might turn out. And with the possibility of high turnover on the Board of Supervisors this election, it's unclear if future elected officials will put permanent rules in place or reverse course entirely.
Changing landscape
For now, there are obvious signs of conflict as the county finds itself in transition.
Sheriff's officials told Calaveras supervisors recently that citizens have registered 213 marijuana-related complaints so far this year. A record 61,467 illegal plants have been destroyed. And some of those applying for the required background checks to become legal growers have been deceitful, law enforcement officials said.
There has also been a series of high-profile crimes involving marijuana. Four men from Modesto were allegedly held against their will for five months, forced to work on a large plantation near West Point. They were beaten, their lives threatened. They finally made a nighttime escape and alerted authorities.
Patrice Murphy moved from the Sacramento area to Calaveras County just two years ago, not knowing what was about to happen. Then she started spotting the odd-looking plastic sheets over fences that are now a telltale sign of a marijuana farm.
One day she was walking her dog when a shot whizzed past, she said. She doesn't believe she was intentionally targeted, but said she often hears gunshots from what she believes to be marijuana growers.
"The atmosphere in this county has definitely changed in the past year," Murphy said. "The whole landscape has changed. But I really want to emphasize that the biggest grief and sorrow in all this is the unsafe conditions that the children are in. They can't even play outside, and that's not right."
It is evident that some community leaders have similar worries. On Thursday, school superintendents held a special forum to share their "concerns for the youth of Calaveras County related to marijuana cultivation and accessibility."
Squelching a stereotype
In time, with proper regulation and enforcement, these fears will diminish, Liberty says.
With the buds thick and full and the marijuana harvest well underway, he visited another farm last week where 28-year-old Dana Evanoff, from Colorado, has been living in an RV all summer tending the crop on behalf of the farmer.
It's Evanoff's third season working in California; last year, he was in the Garberville area.
His mother visited once. "She was assuming it would be a bunch of burned-out hippies," Evanoff said with a smile. "But she said she had a lot of intelligent conversations with people."
Some longtime Calaveras residents haven't yet grown accustomed to their new neighbors, some of whom may be dirty from the harvest or wearing their hair in dreadlocks.
Evanoff defies the pot-grower stereotype in a couple of ways. He has short hair, for one. He also has a degree in molecular biology. He couldn't stand the thought of working in some laboratory under fluorescent lights, so instead, he chooses to work in the peaceful forest under the hot California sun.
"I spend seven days a week working my (butt) off, and it does give me a sense of accomplishment," he said.
And when he's not working, he heads down to Sender's Market in Mountain Ranch, where he spends his money and contributes to the local economy.
Liberty, who lost his home and his crop in the Butte Fire, hopes to earn enough profit this year to begin rebuilding.
"This is a dying county," he said. "Cannabis has completely revitalized that. And it's not just about pot: It's about roads and bridges, it's about wells, it's about food, restaurants, tourism. It's happening right now, and it's our future."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: 'Cannabis County' - Some See Green, Some See Red As Calaveras Pot Industry Explodes
Author: Alex Breitler
Contact: (209) 943-6568
Photo Credit: Clifford Oto
Website: Recordnet
