Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Calaveras County, California - The Calaveras County Democrats moved to a larger venue for what they billed as the "Great Calaveras Cannabis Debate," but it wasn't large enough, by half.
More than 100 people eager to learn about the cannabis laws up for votes in November and possibly beyond on Tuesday night heard former Supervisor Merita Callaway, legalization supporter Bob Bowerman and outright commercial ban proponent Bill McManus discuss county ballot measures to regulate and tax cannabis and a state proposal to legalize recreational use.
McManus also talked about a potential special election in March in which he and his allies hope to give Calaveras County voters a chance to ban commercial cannabis cultivation, commerce, dispensing and testing.
It was standing room only in the Murphys Suites Hotel conference room that hosted the debate. Despite the heat and the closeness, there was only one outburst of anger, and those surrounding the offender quickly quieted him down.
The rest of the 90-minute discussion — you could hardly call it a debate — was a session of open-minded education about the confusing assortment of cannabis-related measures.
The session began with opening statements and Callaway went first. She supports the measure that the Board of Supervisors has placed on the November ballot and that was engineered by a group headed by Calaveras entrepreneur Bardon Stevenot. Not too long into the evening, people were calling it the "Callaway-Stevenot measure."
Callaway says growers and other county residents need the certainty of a permanent cannabis regulation. Although the temporary urgency ordinance that the Board of Supervisors adopted in May leaves is an improvement, it still leaves uncertainty over the county's ultimate direction and whether there will be permanent rules to regulate cultivation.
"What we're trying to do here is saddle a wild horse," Callaway said.
She talked about the 20-year history of medical cannabis regulation in California and described the law that will bring the cannabis industry under full state regulation, the 2015 Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act. The law will be in full effect in 2018.
"We've found that eradication is not going to happen. There's not enough law enforcement and there's not enough funding to do it," she said. "This is an underground economy and it's not regulated. We've got to regulate it and that's what this ballot measure does."
McManus was next.
"We are leading the movement to ban commercial cannabis in this county," McManus said. Ban advocates tried to get a measure on the November ballot and collected nearly 3,500 signatures, only to have them turned back by the county Elections Department because the signature forms failed to include the full text of the proposed ordinance.
McManus said county officials on Tuesday approved the document that will permit the group to begin collecting signatures for a special election in March.
"We have found that regulation with enforcement is chaos," he said. He claimed that 80 percent of the counties and cities in California have banned cannabis. And McManus said he speaks for his neighbors when he describes lifestyles disrupted by legal and illegal farms, fears of leaving their homes with armed and aggressive farmers next door.
"This is a valuable crop and people are willing to take unimaginable risks to cash it in," he said. "All we're trying to do is go back to the way it was."
Bowerman is a founder of the Sacramento Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He spoke on behalf of Proposition 64, the November ballot proposal that would legalize recreational use of marijuana.
"We want to get cannabis away from the drug dealers. We want to get cannabis off of public lands," he said. "If you are guarding your crop with a gun, well, that makes you a terrorist."
He said that for the past 100 years or so, the United States has tried to ban cannabis, "And that didn't work out so well. The only guys who think this works are the dealers and cartels. We have never even really tried regulation."
He said the state proposition would add a robust bureaucracy to the cultivation and production of recreational cannabis, much like the medical cannabis bureaucracy scheduled to fully open in California in 2018.
"We're going to regulate and we're going to do it now and the strongest opposition is the underground cannabis industry," he said.
Questions from the audience ranged from a request for details about one measure or another, to questions about money. A tax measure that Calaveras County Supervisors on Tuesday placed on the November ballot would, if voters approve it, impose a levy on cannabis farmers. That money could be spent as supervisors see fit. In contrast, many of the fees charged to farmers in connection with regulation must be spent on administration and enforcement of those regulations.
According to Caslin Tomaszewski, executive director of the Calaveras Cannabis Alliance, nearly 770 commercial growers registered with the Calaveras County Planning Department by the deadline at the end of June. He estimates that the tax measure on the November ballot would likely yield revenue of $15 million to $20 million a year for the county government.
Many in the audience found the difference between the tax and the fees confusing. It was McManus who explained that the fee income — currently sitting at $3.5 million, or $5,000 per applicant — can only be spent on the registration program.
Calaveras County District 3 Supervisor Michael Oliveira summed up the evening: "This is such a big issue and it's going to affect all of us for a very long, long time. You need to take the time and educate yourselves and know what these measures are going to do to you and your family."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: More Than 100 People Pack Cannabis Policy Forum
Author: Terry Grillo
Contact: 209.754.3861
Photo Credit: Terry Grillo
Website: Calaveras Enterprise
More than 100 people eager to learn about the cannabis laws up for votes in November and possibly beyond on Tuesday night heard former Supervisor Merita Callaway, legalization supporter Bob Bowerman and outright commercial ban proponent Bill McManus discuss county ballot measures to regulate and tax cannabis and a state proposal to legalize recreational use.
McManus also talked about a potential special election in March in which he and his allies hope to give Calaveras County voters a chance to ban commercial cannabis cultivation, commerce, dispensing and testing.
It was standing room only in the Murphys Suites Hotel conference room that hosted the debate. Despite the heat and the closeness, there was only one outburst of anger, and those surrounding the offender quickly quieted him down.
The rest of the 90-minute discussion — you could hardly call it a debate — was a session of open-minded education about the confusing assortment of cannabis-related measures.
The session began with opening statements and Callaway went first. She supports the measure that the Board of Supervisors has placed on the November ballot and that was engineered by a group headed by Calaveras entrepreneur Bardon Stevenot. Not too long into the evening, people were calling it the "Callaway-Stevenot measure."
Callaway says growers and other county residents need the certainty of a permanent cannabis regulation. Although the temporary urgency ordinance that the Board of Supervisors adopted in May leaves is an improvement, it still leaves uncertainty over the county's ultimate direction and whether there will be permanent rules to regulate cultivation.
"What we're trying to do here is saddle a wild horse," Callaway said.
She talked about the 20-year history of medical cannabis regulation in California and described the law that will bring the cannabis industry under full state regulation, the 2015 Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act. The law will be in full effect in 2018.
"We've found that eradication is not going to happen. There's not enough law enforcement and there's not enough funding to do it," she said. "This is an underground economy and it's not regulated. We've got to regulate it and that's what this ballot measure does."
McManus was next.
"We are leading the movement to ban commercial cannabis in this county," McManus said. Ban advocates tried to get a measure on the November ballot and collected nearly 3,500 signatures, only to have them turned back by the county Elections Department because the signature forms failed to include the full text of the proposed ordinance.
McManus said county officials on Tuesday approved the document that will permit the group to begin collecting signatures for a special election in March.
"We have found that regulation with enforcement is chaos," he said. He claimed that 80 percent of the counties and cities in California have banned cannabis. And McManus said he speaks for his neighbors when he describes lifestyles disrupted by legal and illegal farms, fears of leaving their homes with armed and aggressive farmers next door.
"This is a valuable crop and people are willing to take unimaginable risks to cash it in," he said. "All we're trying to do is go back to the way it was."
Bowerman is a founder of the Sacramento Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He spoke on behalf of Proposition 64, the November ballot proposal that would legalize recreational use of marijuana.
"We want to get cannabis away from the drug dealers. We want to get cannabis off of public lands," he said. "If you are guarding your crop with a gun, well, that makes you a terrorist."
He said that for the past 100 years or so, the United States has tried to ban cannabis, "And that didn't work out so well. The only guys who think this works are the dealers and cartels. We have never even really tried regulation."
He said the state proposition would add a robust bureaucracy to the cultivation and production of recreational cannabis, much like the medical cannabis bureaucracy scheduled to fully open in California in 2018.
"We're going to regulate and we're going to do it now and the strongest opposition is the underground cannabis industry," he said.
Questions from the audience ranged from a request for details about one measure or another, to questions about money. A tax measure that Calaveras County Supervisors on Tuesday placed on the November ballot would, if voters approve it, impose a levy on cannabis farmers. That money could be spent as supervisors see fit. In contrast, many of the fees charged to farmers in connection with regulation must be spent on administration and enforcement of those regulations.
According to Caslin Tomaszewski, executive director of the Calaveras Cannabis Alliance, nearly 770 commercial growers registered with the Calaveras County Planning Department by the deadline at the end of June. He estimates that the tax measure on the November ballot would likely yield revenue of $15 million to $20 million a year for the county government.
Many in the audience found the difference between the tax and the fees confusing. It was McManus who explained that the fee income — currently sitting at $3.5 million, or $5,000 per applicant — can only be spent on the registration program.
Calaveras County District 3 Supervisor Michael Oliveira summed up the evening: "This is such a big issue and it's going to affect all of us for a very long, long time. You need to take the time and educate yourselves and know what these measures are going to do to you and your family."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: More Than 100 People Pack Cannabis Policy Forum
Author: Terry Grillo
Contact: 209.754.3861
Photo Credit: Terry Grillo
Website: Calaveras Enterprise
