Cannabis Decisions: Two Sides to Every Story
The decision on WHERE cannabis can be grown has only partly been decided as Sonoma County enters into farming and selling this now legal crop in California. People who voted to make this beneficial plant legal so that it can be grown for fiber, medicinal solutions, as well as recreational use, are afraid of WHERE this crop will be grown The ease of stealing and selling it attracts criminals and has caused death to innocent people living near grows.
On April 10th, the Board of Supervisors will be addressing the next decisions regarding the many details around legalizing this crop that has an estimated 4,000 to 10,000 illegal grows that are currently unregulated and untaxed. How to bring this valuable industry into compliance with all other agricultural products is a challenge we have yet to meet. It’s a rogue industry that needs to become legal for many reasons.
Groups have formed to support legalization and help support entrepreneurs as they come out of their closets into the light of business regulation. Groups have also formed to protect landowners who are at risk of grows near residential homes. ~ Vesta Copestakes, Editor
First-Ever Sheriff Candidates’ Cannabis Debate on April 12
By Craig Litwin
The first-ever cannabis debate among Sonoma County Sheriff candidates is being co-hosted by Citizens for Responsible Access(CRA), Americans for Safe Access – Sonoma County Chapter (ASA) and Sonoma County Growers Alliance (SCGA). Sonoma County residents are invited to attend this free, one-of-a-kind event and hear each candidate share his vision for enforcement of the new local and state cannabis regulations.
As adult-use cannabis comes online across the state, implementation of a new regulatory system is going to change the way enforcement takes place. Will our soon-to-be-elected official be ready?
What are the candidates’ positions? Historically, cannabis has been a law-enforcement matter but is now moving toward a code-enforcement issue – will this still be the case? Citizens are encouraged to attend to find out answers to these and other important questions.
The decision on WHERE cannabis can be grown has only partly been decided as Sonoma County enters into farming and selling this now legal crop in California. People who voted to make this beneficial plant legal so that it can be grown for fiber, medicinal solutions, as well as recreational use, are afraid of WHERE this crop will be grown The ease of stealing and selling it attracts criminals and has caused death to innocent people living near grows.
On April 10th, the Board of Supervisors will be addressing the next decisions regarding the many details around legalizing this crop that has an estimated 4,000 to 10,000 illegal grows that are currently unregulated and untaxed. How to bring this valuable industry into compliance with all other agricultural products is a challenge we have yet to meet. It’s a rogue industry that needs to become legal for many reasons.
Groups have formed to support legalization and help support entrepreneurs as they come out of their closets into the light of business regulation. Groups have also formed to protect landowners who are at risk of grows near residential homes.
The candidates for Sonoma County Sheriff in the upcoming 2018 election are Sonoma County Sheriff’s captain Mark Essick,retired Los Angeles Police captain John Mutz, and retired Santa Rosa Police Department lieutenant and current City of Santa Rosa councilman Ernesto Olivares. Each candidate will be given an opportunity to respond to the moderator’s questions, which include questions that have been provided to the candidates in advance of the debate and ones that have been reserved for the live event. This moderator session will be followed by the candidates’ answers to questions that have been submitted by the audience.
Voting in Sonoma County starts in early May, and this evening of debate will prove informative for the local community. This event is especially relevant to voters in the cities of Sonoma and Windsor, where the local law enforcement is under the jurisdiction of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. Sonoma County residents are encouraged to attend the post-debate mixer to speak directly with the candidates and get answers to any additional questions.
Voters should inform themselves about the sheriff candidates’ attitudes toward – and intentions to support or undermine – the burgeoning cannabis industry. Other key questions include how each candidate envisions the future of policing and enforcement, plans to coordinate with other agencies, intends to prioritize items in the department’s budget and expects to redirect the money previously allocated to cannabis control.
