Pubdate: Wed, 18 Jan 2017
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Copyright: 2017 The Fresno Bee
Contact:  http://www.fresnobee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/161
Note: Does not publish letters from outside their circulation area.
Author: Lewis Griswold

TULARE COUNTY EXTENDS BAN ON MARIJUANA GROWING

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to
continue its ban on growing nonmedical marijuana in unincorporated areas
for another two years.

The ban is aimed at commercial growers. It's still legal to grow up to six
plants at a private residence under Proposition 64, as long as it's
indoors.

Approved by voters statewide in November, Proposition 64 decriminalizes
marijuana by allowing adults 21 and older to use, transport and buy it in
limited amounts.

But the proposition allows local jurisdictions to impose their own
regulations, including a ban on marijuana businesses, which the board
adopted as a temporary measure in December and now has extended until
December 2018.

At a public hearing Tuesday, people who grow marijuana or want to urged
supervisors to not extend the ban.

"This isn't the fringe of agriculture, this is the future of agriculture,"
said Wes Hardin, director of operations at CannaCanHelp Inc. a grower of
medical marijuana in a warehouse in Goshen. The company said it had $5.6
million in sales last year.

You have made millionaires out of people who have no license to do the
business that they're conducting because you're not addressing the issues.

The county is missing out, Hardin said.

"Counties all around us are going to start flourishing," Hardin said.
"We're going to be the dead spot in the middle."

Rachael Carrillo said her family owns a palm tree business, and wants to
grow marijuana as a source of revenue in winter when sales are slow, but
the county is making that impossible.

"I want to do everything legal," she said. "I will have security guards
and electrical fences. ... This is my livelihood ... the sooner we get on
this it's going to benefit everyone in the community. All that money will
go to school and for taxes."

Lawyer Ken Brock called the county's ban "a stop-gap measure" that
benefits only those who ignore the county's ban and grow marijuana anyway.

"What you really did is you created small monopolies," he said. "You said,
'Status quo is let whoever is doing this right now continue to do it,' and
they're continuing to do it and it's incredibly lucrative. You have made
millionaires out of people who have no license to do the business that
they're conducting because you're not addressing the issues."

There's nothing wrong with our county sitting back and seeing what happens
around us.

Supervisors said the issue still needs more study despite the passage of
Proposition 64.

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law and "it's very uncertain what
the law will be looking like in the near future" as the Trump presidency
takes hold, board chairman Pete Vander Poel of Tulare said.

Supervisor Steve Worthley of Dinuba called the responses to Proposition 64
by local governments "beta testing."

"There's nothing wrong with our county sitting back and seeing what
happens around us," Worthley said. "We're taking a position that is
prudent and I think responsible."

Supervisor Mike Ennis of Porterville said marijuana growing is still a
public safety issue. He noted that 55 percent of Tulare County voters
voted no on Proposition 64.

Growing nonmedical marijuana also is banned in Fresno and Kings counties,
although up to six plants can be grown indoors at a private home.

But Coalinga allows it. In Coalinga, voters approved an initiative in
November to allow one medical marijuana dispensary within city limits, and
the city council will discuss the specifics Thursday.

County staff said they would study how other counties deal with
Proposition 64.

Sueprivsor Amy Shuklian of Visalia said the board can always adjust the
rules before the two years are up.
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