Robert Celt
New Member
As rain pounded Northern California on Saturday January 16, the crowd at the North Fork Grange Hall in Junction City, swelled to standing room only with an overflow crowd outside of the door. Fifteen miles to the west a rock slide dammed highway 299 stopping traffic in both directions for several days.
On the other side of that rockslide, Connor McIntee, an environmental scientist with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, (Regional Water Board) who was scheduled to speak at the cannabis forum, sat in his vehicle as the meeting carried on without him. Because the slide was still active, Caltrans wouldn't let people cross it. That didn't stop McIntee.
McIntee arranged for someone to pick him up on the east side of the slide. He put on his wetsuit and took his kayak down to the river. As the muddy water rose high under the heavy rain, he paddled up river and around the slide to catch a ride to the forum. He made it just as Tom Ballanco, an attorney specializing in 215 law, and Dan Mar, owner of High Tide Permaculture, a company that specializes in certifying watershed conscious properties, wrapped up their presentations.
Trinity County District 4 supervisor, Bill Burton, was there when McIntee arrived. Burton saw the grange hall as an appropriate place to hold the cannabis forum. Historically, he explained, grange halls were places for farmers to gather, organize, and swap ideas and equipment. For him, the cannabis forum and the huge turnout represented a shift in the way medical marijuana growers are represented in the county. This is an organized group of farmers who want to be involved in a legal system.
This all started when the California legislature passed three bills in the last hours of the last session of the year. The bills, AB 243, AB 266 and SB 643 were signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on October 9, 2015.
Shortly after, Paul A. Smith, an attorney for the Rural County Representatives of California explained in a joint meeting to the Trinity County Board of Supervisors and the planning department what the medical marijuana revamp means.
The trio of bills give counties in California the authority to regulate medical marijuana, or ban it entirely. It ends the collective model and gives counties exclusive taxing authority. It also grants authority to the state to monitor marijuana farms and enforce state laws.
Under the trio of laws, farmers who want to grow medical marijuana for profit, must first obtain permission from their home county before applying for a license from the state. Though medical marijuana growers won't be required to obtain a license from the state until 2018, counties were given until March to draft a medical marijuana plan.
This deadline prompted Liz McIntosh, a Trinity County resident and medical marijuana advocate, to organize local farmers to influence the drafting of Trinity County's new medical marijuana ordinance.
McIntosh, who runs the Facebook page Trinity Farms For Compliance, organized the cannabis forum at the grange hall. There were at least 170 people there. "After that, we stopped counting," she said.
The goal was to inform people about the new laws so that farmers can be compliant. McIntosh wants to legitimize marijuana farming and integrate the industry into the Trinity County economy.
The passing of the laws in October is what "emboldened us to step forward," she said.
Before, many people viewed legalization as the end of the marijuana economy in Trinity County. Some people assumed the industry would be overrun by larger corporations, leaving little room for mom and pop farmers. But because autonomy was given to counties to draft a plan the best suits them, things are different. "Now, there is an opportunity," McIntosh said.
For Mcintosh, an alliance of marijuana farmers is crucial to drafting an ordinance that is good for the county and right for farmers too.
"The next two months is the meat and potatoes of this whole thing," She said.
Supervisor Burton expressed a similar tone.
"The meeting was the missing link," he said, "An organized effort from the growing community hasn't been seen."
Burton sees medical marijuana farmers as beneficial to the county. He explained that Santa Cruz County collects $200,000 a month from dispensary taxes. Through licensing and taxes, Trinity County could benefit from cultivation and sales of medical marijuana if the ordinance allows it.
He said money collected from dispensaries (if they are allowed), distribution and cultivation should benefit local services including schools and volunteer fire departments.
"The county has not been able to get them what they really need," he said, referring to local fire departments. "Revenues from regulated medical marijuana could fix that."
As the county drafts a medical marijuana ordinance, Burton wants to take a more cautious approach, "I'd be in favor of a smaller ordinance at first," he said, "and ramping it up over time. An overregulated ordinance with too much stuff in it at the beginning won't get the participation that we need."
He'd prefer a model that mimics the efforts of the California State Water Resources Control Board which already has rules in place to monitor medical marijuana farmers using a third party system.
At the cannabis forum, McIntee explained what authority the Regional Water Board has. On October 2, 2015, the Regional Water Board enacted order number r5-2015-0113. It requires everyone who grows marijuana for medical use, and cultivates more than 1,000 square feet outside, or has a garden that threatens a waterway, to obtain a permit from the Regional Water Board.
Cannabis farmers have until February 15, 2016 to fill out an enrollment notice of intent form for waiver of waste discharge requirements. It is available online. Those who don't submit the form and voluntarily enter into the program can be fined up to $10,000 a day for violations down the road.
The three-tiered system is accompanied by annual fees that range from $700 a year to $10,000 a year.
McIntee has given presentations about the waste water discharge requirements all over the North State. He spoke to the Trinity County Board of Supervisors last week.
The three tactics that the regional water board can use to enforce violations are administrative, civil and criminal. Marijuana farms will initially be monitored from the air. If necessary, the Regional Water Board can obtain warrants to inspect farms that appear to be non-compliant. Farms that are not compliant and are not enrolled in the program can be fined up to $10,000 a day.
Marijuana growers who enroll in the waste discharge program are subject to inspection by either the Regional Water Board or a third party approved by the Regional Water Board.
Compliant growers fall into one of three tiers. Tier One poses a low threat to water quality. Tier Two poses a moderate threat to water quality. And Tier Three poses an elevated threat to water quality.
"We expect people to follow these parameters," McIntee said, ..."and there are fines associated if you don't meet those standards."
Supervisor Burton thinks that the regulations put into place by the Regional Water Board will improve the industry and hopefully put things into perspective a bit.
"A small farmer," he explained, "with about 99 plants can use the same amount of water it takes to fill a swimming pool in L.A. If they're watering each plant with five gallons a day, that's 72000 gallons of water. Using that water here, to support this cottage industry is a good thing."
As the medical marijuana ordinance for Trinity County moves forward, there are still many details that need to be hashed out. Though the cannabis forum is over, McIntosh encourages medical marijuana farmers and advocates to attend planning commission meetings and the board of supervisors meetings as the ordinance is drafted.
"If we can get more butts in the seat, that would be great," she said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Trinity County Holds Its First Medical Marijuana Forum
Author: Dave Garrison
Contact: Two Rivers Tribune
Photo Credit: Seth Perlman
Website: Two Rivers Tribune
On the other side of that rockslide, Connor McIntee, an environmental scientist with the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, (Regional Water Board) who was scheduled to speak at the cannabis forum, sat in his vehicle as the meeting carried on without him. Because the slide was still active, Caltrans wouldn't let people cross it. That didn't stop McIntee.
McIntee arranged for someone to pick him up on the east side of the slide. He put on his wetsuit and took his kayak down to the river. As the muddy water rose high under the heavy rain, he paddled up river and around the slide to catch a ride to the forum. He made it just as Tom Ballanco, an attorney specializing in 215 law, and Dan Mar, owner of High Tide Permaculture, a company that specializes in certifying watershed conscious properties, wrapped up their presentations.
Trinity County District 4 supervisor, Bill Burton, was there when McIntee arrived. Burton saw the grange hall as an appropriate place to hold the cannabis forum. Historically, he explained, grange halls were places for farmers to gather, organize, and swap ideas and equipment. For him, the cannabis forum and the huge turnout represented a shift in the way medical marijuana growers are represented in the county. This is an organized group of farmers who want to be involved in a legal system.
This all started when the California legislature passed three bills in the last hours of the last session of the year. The bills, AB 243, AB 266 and SB 643 were signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on October 9, 2015.
Shortly after, Paul A. Smith, an attorney for the Rural County Representatives of California explained in a joint meeting to the Trinity County Board of Supervisors and the planning department what the medical marijuana revamp means.
The trio of bills give counties in California the authority to regulate medical marijuana, or ban it entirely. It ends the collective model and gives counties exclusive taxing authority. It also grants authority to the state to monitor marijuana farms and enforce state laws.
Under the trio of laws, farmers who want to grow medical marijuana for profit, must first obtain permission from their home county before applying for a license from the state. Though medical marijuana growers won't be required to obtain a license from the state until 2018, counties were given until March to draft a medical marijuana plan.
This deadline prompted Liz McIntosh, a Trinity County resident and medical marijuana advocate, to organize local farmers to influence the drafting of Trinity County's new medical marijuana ordinance.
McIntosh, who runs the Facebook page Trinity Farms For Compliance, organized the cannabis forum at the grange hall. There were at least 170 people there. "After that, we stopped counting," she said.
The goal was to inform people about the new laws so that farmers can be compliant. McIntosh wants to legitimize marijuana farming and integrate the industry into the Trinity County economy.
The passing of the laws in October is what "emboldened us to step forward," she said.
Before, many people viewed legalization as the end of the marijuana economy in Trinity County. Some people assumed the industry would be overrun by larger corporations, leaving little room for mom and pop farmers. But because autonomy was given to counties to draft a plan the best suits them, things are different. "Now, there is an opportunity," McIntosh said.
For Mcintosh, an alliance of marijuana farmers is crucial to drafting an ordinance that is good for the county and right for farmers too.
"The next two months is the meat and potatoes of this whole thing," She said.
Supervisor Burton expressed a similar tone.
"The meeting was the missing link," he said, "An organized effort from the growing community hasn't been seen."
Burton sees medical marijuana farmers as beneficial to the county. He explained that Santa Cruz County collects $200,000 a month from dispensary taxes. Through licensing and taxes, Trinity County could benefit from cultivation and sales of medical marijuana if the ordinance allows it.
He said money collected from dispensaries (if they are allowed), distribution and cultivation should benefit local services including schools and volunteer fire departments.
"The county has not been able to get them what they really need," he said, referring to local fire departments. "Revenues from regulated medical marijuana could fix that."
As the county drafts a medical marijuana ordinance, Burton wants to take a more cautious approach, "I'd be in favor of a smaller ordinance at first," he said, "and ramping it up over time. An overregulated ordinance with too much stuff in it at the beginning won't get the participation that we need."
He'd prefer a model that mimics the efforts of the California State Water Resources Control Board which already has rules in place to monitor medical marijuana farmers using a third party system.
At the cannabis forum, McIntee explained what authority the Regional Water Board has. On October 2, 2015, the Regional Water Board enacted order number r5-2015-0113. It requires everyone who grows marijuana for medical use, and cultivates more than 1,000 square feet outside, or has a garden that threatens a waterway, to obtain a permit from the Regional Water Board.
Cannabis farmers have until February 15, 2016 to fill out an enrollment notice of intent form for waiver of waste discharge requirements. It is available online. Those who don't submit the form and voluntarily enter into the program can be fined up to $10,000 a day for violations down the road.
The three-tiered system is accompanied by annual fees that range from $700 a year to $10,000 a year.
McIntee has given presentations about the waste water discharge requirements all over the North State. He spoke to the Trinity County Board of Supervisors last week.
The three tactics that the regional water board can use to enforce violations are administrative, civil and criminal. Marijuana farms will initially be monitored from the air. If necessary, the Regional Water Board can obtain warrants to inspect farms that appear to be non-compliant. Farms that are not compliant and are not enrolled in the program can be fined up to $10,000 a day.
Marijuana growers who enroll in the waste discharge program are subject to inspection by either the Regional Water Board or a third party approved by the Regional Water Board.
Compliant growers fall into one of three tiers. Tier One poses a low threat to water quality. Tier Two poses a moderate threat to water quality. And Tier Three poses an elevated threat to water quality.
"We expect people to follow these parameters," McIntee said, ..."and there are fines associated if you don't meet those standards."
Supervisor Burton thinks that the regulations put into place by the Regional Water Board will improve the industry and hopefully put things into perspective a bit.
"A small farmer," he explained, "with about 99 plants can use the same amount of water it takes to fill a swimming pool in L.A. If they're watering each plant with five gallons a day, that's 72000 gallons of water. Using that water here, to support this cottage industry is a good thing."
As the medical marijuana ordinance for Trinity County moves forward, there are still many details that need to be hashed out. Though the cannabis forum is over, McIntosh encourages medical marijuana farmers and advocates to attend planning commission meetings and the board of supervisors meetings as the ordinance is drafted.
"If we can get more butts in the seat, that would be great," she said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Trinity County Holds Its First Medical Marijuana Forum
Author: Dave Garrison
Contact: Two Rivers Tribune
Photo Credit: Seth Perlman
Website: Two Rivers Tribune
