HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-02-06 Written Communications - Lippitt (2)NrY��° h oorv�vYl�iV�t
AP 1. 17.18 Paul Elias
Calaveras County, once pot -friendly, bans marijuana
A previously pot friendly rural Northern California county has reversed course and banned
commercial marijuana farms, paving the way for lawsuits from growers who previously
received permits and paid taxes.\
A newly constituted Calaveras County board of supervisors last week voted 3-2 to ban
marijuana, giving some 200 farmers with permits about three months to wind down
operations. The vote to ban occurred less than a month after California authorized retail sales
of marijuana for recreational use in cities and counties that approve of pot operations within
their borders.
Calaveras County growers with permits said Wednesday they are planning to sue. Each permit
cost $5,000 and the county has collected more than $7 million in taxes from marijuana
growers since 2016. The economically struggling county of 44,000 residents initially
embraced legalized marijuana as a way to generate revenue and recover from a devastating
2015 wildfire that displaced hundreds or residents and businesses. The county used some of
the marijuana tax to hire additional police and staff.
But four new board members were seated this month after winning election in November
on campaign promises to ban marijuana.
"We have known this day could come and we have prepared for this eventuality for the last
year," said Trevor Witke, president of the Calaveras Cannabis Alliance farmers' group. "We
are going to move forward with everyone who has been impacted by this decision." The
farmers also said they may try to qualify a ballot measure to reverse the ban.
Marijuana has deeply divided financially Calaveras County, the famous setting of a Mark Twain
short story located about 150 miles east of San Francisco.
Sheriff DiBasilio estimated the county, which is about the size of Rhode Island, has more than
1,000 illegal farms in addition to the 200 licensed farmers and the hundreds more who had
their applications pending. The influx has caused a backlash among residents and led to the
ouster of some leaders who approved marijuana cultivation.
Ban proponents complained that a sudden influx of new marijuana growers dramatically
changed the region's makeup and damaged the environment.