Pubdate: Thu, 03 Jul 2014
Source: Chico News & Review, The (CA)
Copyright: 2014 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.com/chico/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/559
Author: Dianna Wright

WHY THE SILENCE?

Is it not curious to folks that Butte County Farm Bureau (BCFB) 
refuses to speak to the issue of pot cultivation in our county while 
we know that it is our largest cash (federal income tax-free) crop at 
$400 million?

Know this: Pot is classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic drug. 
Therefore, pot will never be recognized as a legitimate business 
until the federal government changes that designation. It is an 
unregulated industry free from oversight of any kind including the 
Internal Revenue Service and Department of Agriculture. State law, to 
the contrary, does not supersede federal mandate.

Back to the local level, protecting our open space is BCFB's primary 
objective. As a rural resident of Butte County, neighbor to a 
for-profit commercial pot grow, BCFB is failing me miserably by 
choosing to ignore the "elephant in the room." Their silence has 
created a very dangerous situation for legitimate agricultural 
farmers as well as stable, rural county residents who are terrorized 
by the wanton disregard for-profit pot growers have for their neighbors.

Great leadership is maintained through speaking to relevant issues. 
Perhaps BCFB is losing its relevance, for actions speak volumes.

Dianna Wright

Butte Valley
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom