‍Cannabis Fact of the Day # 6 - County proposes to give cannabis special rights no one else is entitled to

What’s “controlled agriculture”? No one knows. Now Sonoma County staff wants to call cannabis “controlled agriculture,” but doesn’t want to tell us what that means. If cannabis growing is going to have “additional regulations and limitations,” what will those be? Will the Board of Supervisors demand that the new rules for “controlled agriculture” be clearly defined now, so everyone knows what this means? 

Staff proposes to reclassify cannabis as “controlled agriculture” because cannabis remains classified as a controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act. In order to circumvent its illegality, Staff considers it “appropriate to subject cannabis to certain additional regulations and limitations compared to other agricultural uses”. These regulations and limitations are not listed in the FEIR, a document which should be clear, informative, and available to the public. “Controlled ag” is not a term or concept used in the State of California.

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Cannabis Fact of the Day # 7 - County proposal to rebrand cannabis eliminates your rights- part 2

 
California thinks that cannabis growing, processing and use should be safe for everyone, and has a whole department that enforces a laundry list of state laws to make sure that is true. Is Sonoma County staff trying to get around all those state laws by redefining cannabis as “controlled agriculture,” a term the state’s never heard of? Will the Board of Supervisors demand that Sonoma County follow state law, and support the goal of safety for everyone?

Staff has acknowledged the term,“controlled agriculture” is NOT recognized by any other governmental entitiesand has no precedent or other official meaning, yet Staff continues to propose that amendment to the General Plan. What proposals in the FEIR depend on this redefinition? This verbal ruse to redefine cannabis is a thinly veiled attempt to allow the expansion of cannabis cultivation and grows and to permit cannabis products to be manufactured, consumed and sold in rural areas, and to allow hundreds of cannabis special events with virtually no limits or oversight.

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Cannabis Fact of the Day # 8 - Only Sonoma County allows their residences to be negatively impacted by outdoor cannabis

Why does Sonoma County want to be the only Bay Area County to allow outdoor cultivation of cannabis? Will the Board of Supervisors protect Sonoma County residents and visitors from the stench of outdoor cannabis cultivation?

Outdoor cultivation is prohibited in Marin and Napa Counties. Sonoma County is the only Bay Area county to permit outdoor cultivation.

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Cannabis Fact of the Day # 9 - Sonoma County proposing to take away your rights permanently

Sonoma County staff thinks it’s OK to give a permit FOREVER to an existing cannabis grower without making them comply with new cannabis rules. Some Sonoma County residents living 100 feet from an existing cannabis growing operation could have to live next to them FOREVER, and Sonoma County staff thinks that’s just fine. Will the Board of Supervisors protect all Sonoma County residents and require that all existing cannabis operations meet all the new requirements, or require them to close down at the end of their permit?

In some cases, Staff’s proposal that existing and permits in the pipeline “run with the land” in perpetuity could result in setbacks that are LESS than in the current ordinance. If it is unsafe to live next to new outdoor grows going forward, it is unsafe to live next to existing grows. If an existing grow cannot meet the new setbacks, it needs to be “sunsetted” when its current 5-year permit expires.

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Cannabis Fact of the Day # 10 - Sonoma County's cannabis proposal adds new risks to your health and safety

Sonoma County staff doesn’t care whether they can enforce State laws that require cannabis for consumption to be safe. Instead, Sonoma County staff thinks we should just trust that anyone selling cannabis at a farm stand or at an event is following all State laws, so their cannabis must be safe. Will the Board of Supervisors admit there is no way the County can enforce State laws at all the new proposed cannabis retail and events, and its naive to think the cannabis growers will be good scouts and honor these laws when no one is looking. Allowing farm stand retail and consumption events puts the public in direct danger of being victims of impaired drivers and makes the farm stands perfect magnets for criminal activity, with law enforcement far away.

State laws must be followed. A local grower cannot sell his product except through a licensed distributor who did the required testing weeks in advance, and through a licensed retailer, in a separate secure location, with ADA bathrooms, etc. The State does not have resources to monitor this. The proposed code does not address this challenge.

Cannabis Fact of the Day # 11 - Sonoma County proposes to allow cannabis events every Saturday and Sunday within 100 ft of your home

When is an event an event? No matter how Sonoma County staff tries to pretend their newly defined cannabis “small scale visitor serving activities” aren’t events - under state regulations - they absolutely are. Every designatedl ocation could have up to 104 of these events every year, with up to 50 people attending each event! Even worse, even though staff claim that they“expect” that these newly defined events would only happen at cannabis cultivation locations, that’s not the ordinance they wrote. Any agricultural or RRD parcel in the county could be having these events, with no limit county-wide. Do cultivation sites have septic systems and parking capacity for 50 people?

Once more, Sonoma County is diverging from state regulations - if there is consumption of cannabis and retail sales - it is an event.  The draft Cannabis Ordinance is MISSING the state Department of Cannabis Control requirements that each cannabis event have a licensed event organizer, with a second temporary license for each day cannabis is consumed or sold at the site. Also, qualified security, licensed by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, and meeting other Business and Professions Code requirements, must be on-site. Only licensed retailers can sell cannabis products, and there is a daily limit on how much each adult can buy. 

Cannabis Fact of the Day # 12 - Sonoma County proposal will allow LARGE cannabis events in your neighborhood

So-calledsmall events apparently aren’t enough – Sonoma County staff wants our County to be the cannabis party location for the entire state. Staff thinks cannabis operators, with appropriate state licenses, deserve an additional 2 large events every year on any/all of the over 18,000 agricultural or RRD parcels in the county, on top of the myriads of "small events" allowed at cannabis sites. There’s no cap on the total number of these large events, and they won’t be taking place in controlled locations such asthe Fairgrounds but instead will be in locations only served by our narrow rural roads. Does the Board of Supervisors support our County becoming the cannabis party destination for the entire U.S.? How does the Board of Supervisors plan to pay for enforcement of these events – do they plan to use our tax dollars to pay to ensure the County is safe, or will they demand that the cannabis industry pay for enforcement and security at no cost to taxpayers?

Staff did not propose a cap on the number of sites that could have these two large events per year. At a minimum, Event requirements must comply with State regulations related to the responsibilities of Licensed Cannabis Event Coordinators (See Link to DCCWebsite).  https://cannabis.ca.gov/licensees/events/  Detailed Frequently Asked Questions.

Events are prohibited in Marin, Yolo, Mendocino, Santa Barbara, and Napa counties.

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