Recreational pot will become legal in the state on Jan. 1. That much is a given. But it remains unclear whether hundreds of local growers will be able to secure a permit to sell to dispensaries.
Almost 950 growers came out of the cold a year ago and paid $3,000 for an official licensing application with Santa Cruz County. This allowed them to be considered for a permit once a final ordinance for growers is adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
But now a scheduled December hearing by supervisors to adopt cultivation regulations has been pushed back a month into the New Year. The public comment period on the $1 million draft environmental impact report has been extended to Oct. 31.
“Serious economic disruption could occur if existing operations cannot seek temporary state licenses,” said Jim Coffis, deputy director of GreenTrade Santa Cruz, which has 100 members including farmers, processors, manufacturers, distributors and sellers. “An interim solution will be necessary.”
Beginning Jan. 1 only licensed businesses can work with other licensed businesses, according to state law.
But local attorney Ben Rice, a recognized expert in state and local cannabis law, believes the state will give growers a “three- or four-month pass” before clamping down.
The issue is twofold: the county must take a position on zoning and environmental issues, and it also doesn’t want to miss any legal tax revenue generated from the growers.
In Monterey County, where voters in 2016 passed a business license requirement on commercial tax grows, the county also collects use taxes, based on square footage or 5 percent of gross receipts.
Rice said that this year Monterey County collected $4 million in grower taxes and anticipates it will garner $7 million this year.
Roughly 75 people showed up earlier this week at the second public-discussion meeting to provide oral input into the 637-page draft environmental report.
The county is attempting to achieve a delicate balance between an ordinance that maintains the environment and one that encourages grower participation.
If growers see an approved ordinance that financially handcuffs them in terms of compliance, they may continue to generate black market cannabis.
Many already fear that illegal grows will undercut farmers who obey the law, leading to a price discrepancy.
“Currently, by some estimates as much as 80 percent of cannabis production in California is for export (black) market,” Coffis said. “This percent may be reduced by regulation but it will not disappear.”
Coffis added that it does not cost more to grow organically, but the yields could be less than an illegal grow.
The county, thus far, appears to by shying away from overly rigid rules governing cultivation, said Rice, who has an email list of past and current clients that totals 500 names.
“The new EIR supports the points that we’ve been making,” said Rice, adding that allowing multiple permits for one property and discouraging grows under 5 acres appear to be moving toward approval. “Until now, those messages have not been listened to.”
The most-permissive option outlined in the environmental impact report provides “a balance between meeting program objectives, including quality-of-life concerns, while addressing environmental impacts by maximizing participation.”
The comment period ends at 5 p.m., Monday, Oct. 16.
To comment by email, send to ca*********@sa*************.us
To send hard-copy comments, mail or deliver to:
Cannabis Comments c/o Matt Johnston
Planning Department
701 Ocean Street, 4th floor
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
All comments must be postmarked no later than 5:00 P.M. on October 16, 2017
Comments can address the adequacy and completeness of the report, as well as any conclusions drawn, mitigation recommendations or other issues which you believe should be considered by the Board of Supervisors before they accept and certify the environmental impact report.
To comment by email, send to ca*********@sa*************.us
To send hard-copy comments, mail or deliver to:
Cannabis Comments c/o Matt Johnston
Planning Department
701 Ocean Street, 4th floor
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
