Pubdate: Sat, 23 Feb 2013 Source: Times-Standard (Eureka, CA) Copyright: 2013 Times-Standard Contact: http://www.times-standard.com/writeus Website: http://www.times-standard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1051 Author: Kaci Poor MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION 101; HSU RESEARCH INSTITUTE TO HOST LECTURE ON POT, MONEY With California marijuana activists gearing up for another legalization push following the successful November elections in Colorado and Washington, one local banker is continuing to explore the economic implications that marijuana legalization could have on Humboldt County. Jennifer Budwig, Redwood Capital Bank vice president and regional area manager, will discuss the topic at the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research's speaker series on the HSU campus on Tuesday. Her thesis for the Pacific Coast Banking School graduate program at the University of Washington found that the marijuana industry, based on conservative estimates, was responsible for pumping at least $400 million annually into Humboldt County's economy. If that money were to disappear -- potentially due to legalization -- it would cause a 25 percent reduction in local economic activity, Budwig concluded. Budwig said she will be updating the numbers to include more recent data for her presentation. She said she also plans to talk about the implications of not including legalization on the 2012 California ballot, and discuss what has transpired at the federal level on marijuana enforcement. Sociology professor Josh Meisel, who co-chairs the marijuana research institute, said concerns about the economic impacts of legalization are ongoing. "A recent article in the Economist estimates that the American marijuana market is worth $50 billion," Meisel said. "If we consider Humboldt County as perhaps ground zero, we can't afford to keep our heads in the sand. We need to consider what the potential ripple effects may be." With a movement afoot to see legalization back on the California ballot in 2016, he said Budwig's research is important for all Humboldt County residents to consider. "Her study isn't about how legalization impacts those who work in the marijuana industry," Meisel said. "It's about a community that very likely -- and we don't have really hard data on this -- stays afloat and prospers because of the influx of cash marijuana production and distribution creates." From business owners who have received large payments in cash to individuals who subsidize their income by working in the underground economy, Meisel said everyone has a story about the marijuana industry -- and how it has affected them. "I can't imagine anyone believes the economic impacts are not significant and not important," he said. Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce CEO J Warren Hockaday agreed. Hockaday said Budwig, a former chamber board member, has given a presentation on the topic to the board. "I found her work extremely well done," he said. "By its nature, this industry is very hard to quantify. But anyway you get your arms around it, you have to acknowledge it's here, it's going to stay, and it is a significant factor in our economy." Although the university has taken some flack for the marijuana research institute, Hockaday said he finds it refreshing to approach the topic of marijuana from an academic perspective. "There is just so much emotion caught up in the issue," he said. "No matter how any individual feels about legalization or use, the fact is that there is a lot of money moving and changing hands and supporting the local economy in ways that nobody can ignore." For more information, contact Josh Meisel, Humboldt Institute for Marijuana Research co-director, at 826-4446 or visit www.humboldt.edu/hiimr. [sidebar] IF YOU GO: What: Speaker series presentation: "The Potential Economic Impact to Humboldt County if Marijuana is Legalized" Who: Jennifer Budwig of Redwood Capital Bank Where: BSS Native Forum, Room 162 at Humboldt State University, 1st Harpst St., Arcata When: Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. TO BOX OUT: Looking Forward Tony Silvaggio, environmental sociologist and Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research member, is organizing a two-day Earth Day Symposium on Marijuana and the Environment to be held April 19 and April 20. To register or suggest panelists for the symposium, entitled "Communities and Landscapes in Balance: The Crossroads of Environmental Protection and Marijuana Agriculture," visit humboldt.edu/dee/hiimr/. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom