Commercial cannabis in Plumas County: Will it serve the common good?
It was 1972 and I was 10 years old when I took my first backpacking trip into the Trinity Alps. My dad kept secretly putting heavy rocks in my pack at every stop to slow me down. After a rigorous 7-mile ascent, I remember the exhilaration of cresting the final saddle to see the emerald colored lake in a cathedral granite bowl. Diving into the frigid snowmelt waters stunned my senses.
Once I could breathe, I shouted a rapturous, “This is amazing!” sending echoes of youthful happiness skimming off the lake into towering columns of stone.
Adventures like these kindled a deep passion in me for the natural world. I was particularly drawn to the rugged mountains, rushing rivers, pristine lakes and glorious glacial valleys of the Sierra Nevada. Simultaneously, an interesting rhythm of life began in me — work hard, play hard and experience joy as it surprises you.
Joy sprang up most often in the reverent experience of nature’s beauty and wonder. Gazing at the night sky, particularly the Milky Way, all my big questions began. Who made this? Why am I here? Is anything meaningful? As I entered adulthood, similar feelings and contemplations would be aroused through music, theatre, art, athletics, great literature and even science.
Fast forward to the early 1990s where I was immersed in my UC Davis Family Medicine Residency. In those long hours behind white hospital walls, I was longing for the refreshment of the mountains. I began looking at the charming Sierra town of Quincy as a real possibility for starting my career. I was imagining the exhilaration of exploring every ridge, canyon and crevasse of Lakes Basin.
Coincident with the beginning of my practice in 1994 a national movement driven by patient advocacy groups and pain specialists succeeded in passing a mandate that required every physician in the U.S. to complete 30 hours of continuing medical education on pain management “best practices.” Significant impetus behind this mandate was the legitimate concern over the inadequate treatment of terminal cancer pain.
Unfortunately, in retrospect, the curriculum also advocated for more liberal use of opioids (opiates) in the treatment of chronic pain in general. Reassurances were given by specialists and researchers that addiction and abuse potential was possible, but uncommon if carefully monitored. We were taught that we could enhance the functionality and quality of life of our patients with chronic opiate use.
Over two decades later we find ourselves in the middle of a national crisis of prescription opiate and illicit heroin abuse, addiction, overdose and tragic deaths. Time, experience and multitudes of further studies began to demonstrate just how perilous chronic opiate use could be. Through national awareness campaigns and increasing scrutiny of prescribing practices we physicians began to wake up to a problem we helped create.
Over the past sever al years in Plumas County, a proactive effort involving patients and families, social workers, therapists, mental health workers along with physicians and pain specialists worked to adopt and utilize revised practices to curb abuse. More than a year ago, a strategic taskforce with wide representation was formed called the Northern Sierra Opioid Safety Coalition. Quite amazingly, we experienced zero deaths in Plumas County in 2016 due to opioid overdose! This is a victory, but we still have much work ahead.
With this said, opiates continue to be of tremendous value in anesthesia, traumatic injuries, post-surgery pain, heart attacks and severe acute pain (3-5 days). They remain invaluable in keeping terminal patients comfortable for end of life care. However, they are now considered to do much more harm than good in chronic pain management with limited exceptions. Worse yet is to use opiates to treat emotional pain or stress induced conditions. We learned all of this the hard way.
I present this brief history of the opiate crisis to remind us of how seriously we must consider both the short-term and the long-term effects of every drug. I am encouraged by some of the therapeutic benefits of the cannabis plant researched and applied to specific medical conditions. I am concerned, however, over the prevalence of nonchalant attitudes toward the psychotropic effects of recreational marijuana.
We must be mindful that every single drug has inherent risks and benefits needing to be weighed and nuanced to the clinical and environmental setting. One alcoholic beverage daily is considered safe, and one glass of red wine daily shows evidence of modest health benefit. However, due to abuse, the World Health Organization (WHO) still considers alcohol to be the world’s #1 most destructive drug. Every cigarette smoked has been correlated with removing 6 minutes from your life without one health benefit. However, cigarette smoking has not been shown to impair driving. Driving while intoxicated by alcohol, sedatives, opiates and large doses of marijuana can be catastrophic.
Cannabis has shown promise in a variety of specific medical conditions including anorexia in AIDS patients, intractable nausea in cancer patients, and severe tremor in Parkinson’s disease. The WHO has compiled tremendous evidence-based data on the risks and benefits of cannabis and its derivatives.
Cannabis intoxication is not generally life threatening unless potent marijuana wax (honey oil) is consumed, yet Emergency Room visits related to marijuana abuse or pediatric exposures are increasing at an alarming rate in states with marijuana legalization, particularly in Colorado.
In my professional and personal experience, I have observed many regular users of marijuana to exhibit mood instability, slowed cognitive processing and reduced ability and/or motivation to perform complex and rigorous tasks. These observations are supported by the medically recognized “cannabis use disorder” which develops in roughly 10 percent of regular cannabis users and is associated with cognitive impairment, poor school or work performance, and psychiatric comorbidity such as mood disorders and psychosis. Prospective longitudinal surveys suggest that cannabis users are two times more likely to develop “alcohol use disorder” over the next 3 years than are non-users, and 2.6 times more likely to have a current heroin use disorder than non-users. Studies also show that the majority of daily cannabis users also binge drink alcohol.
Are there those who use marijuana responsibly and beneficially for specific medical indications or through limited recreational use? Of course. However, I believe psychoactive prescription drugs, illicit drugs, and legal recreational drugs including alcohol, tobacco and marijuana are all overused and overrated. They are particularly overrated by those who profit monetarily by consumer use. In the case of drugs with abuse potential, they are also overrated by those who seek to justify a habit.
Anxiety and depression disorders among our youth are at an all-time high. We need to teach and practice decreased dependence on recreational drugs that afford a transient, but dangerous escape from difficult realities.
We need to teach and practice healthy coping skills including meditative and mindfulness practices, yoga, tai chi and prayer.
We need to teach and practice reduced dependence on social media, while we encourage and facilitate face-to-face community events and dialogue.
We need to teach and practice good nutritional habits and regular exercise.
We need to celebrate opportunities like the challenging climbing wall and exhilarating river rides offered by our local community college as therapies for stress and as opportunities to combat loneliness.
We seem to have a cultural preoccupation with and over utilization of psychoactive substances to enhance our mindful states, when in fact we put ourselves and those we influence at risk of chemical dependencies of a variety of sorts and combinations. I believe we need to cultivate a different kind of medicine — the medicine of a healthy mind and body afforded us by our proximity to astounding natural beauty.
Californians voted for the legalization of recreational marijuana, which gives every adult the right to cultivate up to six plants and possess one ounce of cannabis for personal use.
However, the “green rush” is on and commercial growers are looking for land and looking to profit. California is already producing seven times what it uses for both medical and recreational purposes. Counties including Butte, Lassen, Tehama, Mendocino, Calaveras and Siskiyou are scrambling to combat increased crime, environmental damage and pollution, wildlife harm, as well as polarized citizens. Some are placing emergency moratoriums on commercial growth. There is tremendous potential for huge profits and with that comes opportunistic individuals and groups growing legally and illicitly who care about little else than money.
Are there responsible, good people who care about our health, neighborhoods, environment and lands who are pro commercial? Once again, of course. Nevertheless, I would argue that very recent history demonstrates that these responsible growers end up being the minority in pro-commercial counties.
Before we consider allowing the commercial growth of cannabis in Plumas County we need to ask the following questions: How will this impact my neighborhood, my community, and the environment? Will law enforcement and our DA have the resources to confront increased crime, neighborhood complaints, illegal grows and convoluted and expensive prosecution? Do other counties that have now restricted commercial grows know something that we do not? Will this reduce or increase the cartels growing in the forest? Will this commercial enterprise promote the health and wellness of our citizens? Our economy could use a boost, yes, but at what cost, and does the end justify the means?
Ultimately, my argument for being a “No Commercial Grow” county is centered on two things. First, the risk of a high stakes, high profit industry destroying the safety, health and tranquility of our rural county. (Please read the abundance of current articles documenting what’s happening in neighboring counties facing this issue.)
My second point is this: What does Plumas County want to be known for and what do we desire people to remember and treasure from their experience here?
We are blessed beyond measure to live in this incredible place. We have a great community college, thriving arts community supported by Plumas Arts, excellent and caring healthcare systems, an award winning 20,000 Lives program through Public Health, and a festive homegrown county fair. Furthermore, we enjoy farmers markets, trail stewardships, coops and spirited volunteerism in fire departments, churches and many service groups and clubs. We have attracted large events such as the High Sierra Music Festival, the new Plumas Americana Festival, the internationally acclaimed Grinduro bicycle event and, of course, the World Championship Longboard Races! In June of 2018, we will have our first annual Conservation and Wilderness Medicine Conference here in Quincy with world class presenters.
Plumas County should be known for its charming downtowns, inclusive people, community spirit and a backyard paradise of rugged and wild natural beauty. These are the things that make me cry out, “This is amazing!” like on that first backpacking trip. These are the “natural highs” that drew my family and so many others to settle down here.
As hard as it may be, let’s keep up the tenacious struggle to grow our small local economy to benefit the common good of our citizens and to foster the responsible stewardship of the land.
There is a newly formed Citizens Group for a Responsible Cannabis Ordinance (CGRCO). This group is drafting an ordinance which would prohibit commercial grows, and thereby provide protections for our neighborhoods, wildlife and our beautiful lands. We implore our Board of Supervisors who represent you to consider adopting this alternative ordinance to replace the Draft Cannabis Ordinance being crafted by a largely “pro commercial grow” working group. Make your informed decision and let your voice be heard. This is a pivotal time for our county and time is of the essence.
“Whether we or our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory and a sterner sense of justice than we do.” — Wendell Berry
Smoke a bowl, and just chill out… Trump has got it all figured out!
Sign this petition if you support medical cannabis
https://fs26.formsite.com/tgrobecker/form9/index.html
You guys should work on you representation. Some of your general mission statements are good, but your public representation is awful, I really fear that how you represent yourselves is doing more harm than good to this cause.
Please stop talking about Jeff Sessions, it switches the dialog from cannabis to politics, this is not a political issue, there is no need to make it one, that just creates divisions. I would like for everyone, regardless of political affiliation, to feel comfortable expressing their views on this issue and to feel comfortable to research whether they would like to see a regulated cannabis industry in Plumas county without fear of whether they are betraying their political affiliation. This is not a red or blue issue.
Do a little research about social activism, try to think of the most effective way to help people achieve an understanding of the issue, you don’t change peoples minds by insulting them.
Please take this as constructive criticism, I am passionate about cannabis and would like to see it brought out of the dark ages of understanding. You will never be able to bridge the gap of understanding while your calling someone “a dumb b*tch”.
That last sentence was in reference to Jeff Carbona’s statement further down the page.
Sign this petition if you want to keep medical cannabis!
https://fs26.formsite.com/tgrobecker/form9/index.html
Wow! I would rather die on the table then let the Dr that wrote this editorial touch me! You apparently have no idea who your patients are. Most people in this county use medical cannabis. Sorry we are not in your church group and you don’t know us.
Like it or not, the state has made a decision to legalize. The overall trend will be legalization. Stopping industry now will just allow growers in other counties to dominate the industry.
Outlawing commercial grows will simply get rid of those that would try to obey the law and pay taxes. While the illegal people will keep growing pot and not paying their fair share.
Furthermore, it puts keeping existing growers in the shadows, fearing for their livelihood while not paying taxes and fees.
When the county finally comes around after seeing lost revenues others are reaping, it would be the growers in the other counties that would control the industry.
I’m going to side with Dr. Kepple
A drive up highway 101 will give anyone a glimpse of what the growers have in store for us.
I’ve spent most of my life living in Mendocino County and have witnessed the Marijuana business go from small and peaceful, mom and pop operations to major commercial enterprises.
There is more than just lush fields of emerald plants. There is also the transient workforce that moves in every fall bring their violence, crime and Heroin habits. Called Trimmigrants, their job is to manicure the crop and prepare it for sale.
I’m quite serious about the violence. Last year a friend living near Laytonville was murdered by his hired help. Nearly decapitated, his crop was stolen. Another local grower was nearly beat to death with a baseball bat over his measly nine pounds. A reasonable person should ask is that what we want to see here in Plumas?
I also think its foolish to to expect Plumas County will receive vast sums of money to combat illegal grows. I dug out my voter pamphlet and reviewed the numbers and have provided them below:
“Revenue from the two taxes will be deposited in a new California Marijuana Tax Fund. First, the revenue will be used to cover costs of administrating (we all know hundreds of new state bureaucrats will come cheap) and enforcing the measure. Next, it will be distributed to drug research, treatment, and enforcement, including:
$2 million per year to the UC San Diego Center for Medical Cannabis Research.
$10 million per year for 11 years for public California universities to research and evaluate the implementation and impact of Proposition 64. Researchers would make policy change recommendations to the California Legislature and California governor.
$3 million annually for five years to the Department of the California Highway Patrol for developing protocols to determine whether a vehicle driver is impaired due to marijuana consumption.
$10 million, increasing each year by $10 million until settling at $50 million in 2022, for grants to local health departments and community-based nonprofits supporting “job placement, mental health treatment, substance use disorder treatment, system navigation services, (Huh?) legal services to address barriers to reentry, (Huh?) and linkages to medical care for communities disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies.”
The remaining revenue will be distributed as follows:
60 percent to youth programs, including drug education, prevention, and treatment.
20 percent to prevent and alleviate environmental damage from illegal marijuana producers.
20 percent to programs designed to reduce driving under the influence of marijuana and a grant program designed to reduce negative impacts on health or safety resulting from the proposition.
It is important to bear in mind that initially, California hoped to take in nearly a billion dollars of new revenue the first year. That all sounded reasonably rosy pre-November. But now the state is putting forth more accurate numbers. Rather that all growers jumping on board becoming legit the number if registered legal growers is now given by the state as closer to 16%. A full 84% are not expected to pay their fair share.
That billion dollars of prop 64 revenue is now looking like it might now fall to well under 200 million. Guess those long time commercial growers are balking at the tax burden prop 64 imposes on them and of course, that’s understandable.
So with 58 counties within California and the money prospects dwindling and a large portion of the expected revenue already earmarked what can Plumas County which is usually at the far end of the state funding pipeline reasonably expect? Hopefully enough for a burger and fries. In any case, I’ll bet it proves to be not nearly the money stream that the pro-grow crowd would lead us to believe.
Clearly if this was all peaches and cream I’m certain Sheriff Hagwood would be all over this. He’s obviously not and I hope the citizens of this county take a moment to ask themselves why.
In closing, I welcome the pro-grow crowd a chance to offer some numbers that differ from what I’ve provided. No, just hearing them say so isn’t what the people of this county want to hear. Honesty would be a pleasant change.
I also pray that our Board of Supervisors takes a real hard look at this and votes no. There is no reason to jump into commercial cultivation with both feet. We as a county can always pick up this discussion at a later in time. As Dr. Kepple mentions many other counties and experiencing big problems. Siskiyou county has actually declared a state of emergency over their commercial cultivation problems! Would it not be wise to see how this plays out before our BOS. votes yes?
Tess
Thanks testie. Didn’t know that Dr kepple was the authority on everything until now. I can finally sleep at night! Just knowing that he has that Caribbean medical license helps me sleep!
If you want to keep medical cannabis sign this
https://fs26.formsite.com/tgrobecker/form9/index.html
Tess, in my medical opinion I diagnose you as a dumb bitch! I prescribe medical cannabis to help you with this problem!
You guys are not helping, this is an embarrassment to the movement.
Do a little research about social activism, try to think of the most effective way to help people achieve an understanding of the issue that you care about.
I am passionate about cannabis and would like to see it brought out of the dark ages of understanding.
You will never be able to bridge the gap of understanding while you’re calling someone “a dumb b*tch”, why would someone be so self depreciating as to listen to what you have to say to them after that. You want they opposition to agree with you, not feel bad about themselves or, more likely in this case, feel negatively about you and the issue you are trying to promote. You are doing the cause harm.
Apparently you are dumb!
Are you trying to make cannabis look bad? If so you have succeeded.
Many well meaning folks like Doctor Kepple don’t understand that keeping commercial growing illegal is what illegal growers want, they get better prices, less competition, no taxes and no safety or environmental regulations. The majority of the people that I talk to that want to ban commercial growing are afraid of revenue loss for illegal growing, Tess(the previous poster above) is a perfect example.
Tess and I had a conversation earlier, in the post section of the “Supervisors hear the voices of no-growers” article, after several comments back and forth it came to light that Tess’s main complaint was revenue loss for illegal growers. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation; “If Tess were in a position to decide if she wanted to grow legal or illegal it’s clear she would decide to stay illegal. There’s a big market back East”, “What has been a staple California cottage industry for the past 40-50 years will largely cease to exist. Prop. 64 was the nail in the coffin.”
You can read it in it’s entirety here: http://www.plumasnews.com/supervisors-hear-voices-no-growers/ personally I don’t think these are the supporters DR. Kepple had in mind. I don’t like what I see in the marijuana industry right now, all the violence and greed, I would like to regulate these activities, no commercial growing has not helped and is what has gotten us to this point.
Thank you
I phrased the last sentence oddly phrased, might be confusing.
what I meant is; many people aren’t happy with the way things are going(myself included), currently commercial recreational cannabis is not legal to buy anywhere in California, therefore it is important to note that what we are seeing right now is not the result of legalization, it’s the result of a pre-legalization, legal grey area.
Its not fair to use the awful greed and violence happening in the state right now, as an example of what’s wrong with legalization, because legalization hasn’t happened yet. What is happening right now is a result of the lack of regulation and oversight of a large industry. The regulations, regulatory agencies and licensing authorities are not in place yet(not until Jan 2018).
After legalization, all cannabis will be tracked and traced from seed to sale, prior to delivery or sale at a retailer marijuana and marijuana products shall be labeled and placed in a resealable, child resistant package.
Trimmers will have to adhere to all the same rules and regulations(and have the same rights) as any other legal worker in California and growers will not be allowed to store harvested marijuana on site, it will be transported to the point of sale by a separate party, thus addressing people being beaten and robbed for harvested cannabis.
Again thank you for allowing the space for me to express my opinions and share some lacking info, on some commonly misunderstood aspects of this complex issue.
“It’s not fair to use awful greed and violence happening in the state right now as an example of what’s wrong with legislation.”
Really? It sounds like the vast majority of growers are choosing to opt out of legal cultivation. The 84% non-compliance number given by the state should be eye opening to you and everyone else. HeartofPlumas, it sounds like you are either living in a utopian dream or have a profit motive that you haven’t mentioned.
I admire Tess for coming forward and actually presenting some true facts and figures. You on the other hand seem convinced all will work within a legal system that is already showing signs of being badly fractured. I cannot buy your idea that all will be perfect after January first.
I am of the impression that when most voters voted for proposition 64 they, more than anything else, simply wanted decrimilization of possession. The right to grow six plants if they chose was an added plus. It’s just they way people are. Don’t most of us, more than anything else, just want to be left alone? Darn few voters were looking ahead at proposition 64’s possible impacts to our communities and our way of life.
I’ll also bet very few were voting to see their way of life undergo major changes to satisfy the greed that we are seeing quite stunningly on display with the vast majority of California’s commercial growers.
I agree with Tess in that there is no reason for Plumas County to dive head first into commercial marijuana cultivation. I feel Tess is showing a great amount of wisdom in suggesting that we should wait and see how this pans out. I also hope our BOS. Vote no. If someday prop 64 actually does start to run like a well oiled machine we can look at it again someday in the future. That would be using good common sense wouldn’t it?
HeartofPlumas
I just took a moment to read the conversation you had with Tess above. She strikes me as a woman who in her lifetime has walked the the walk and now is very much entitled to talk the talk. She has the background and has watched the marijuana industry turn ugly. Having been there and done that I have to give her words considerable weight. She is obviously dead set against commercial cultivation a point you seem unwilling to share
Rather you seem to be twisting her comments and taking her words out of context. Something that should make you feel very embarrassed and ashamed.
Heartof Plumas
How dare you. Yes you and I had a conversation and I thought I’d laid out my case. I am clearly neither for either legal or illegal cultivation.
If I wasn’t clear enough you could have a gentleman asked for clarification.
Please stop being such a Weasel.
Tess
Guess what recreational cannabis is legal! Keep fighting it!.lets not allow extra money for the county!
Jeff carbona <<<< An glaringly obvious example why we don't want commercial cultivation in plumas county. His mind is gone and he wants to take others down same path.
To be fair, I spoke with the group that that these two are associated with, to express my displeasure and was told that they were not aware that these comments were being made by these individuals, they did not share their opinion and they weren’t happy about how the cannabis industry was represented.
I am not in any way associated with this group and am not trying to encourage to support or not support their efforts, but it this seems like a case of a few misguided individuals, who’s views are not shared by the entire organization.
Their views should not be viewed as representative of the industry, they are absolutely not representative of my own.
If you support commercial or not is up to you, make an informed choice, but I would ask that you don’t let the actions of these individuals cloud your judgment, please.
Almost all economic activity has social and environmental impact.
You cannot have economic activity without social or environmental impact.
The questions should be:
1. Do we want to accept cannabis as a commercial activity, along with its impact, for what it may provide economically and socially?
2. Can those who are responsible for the impact be held to account and is there effective enforcement?
Now is the time to make your thoughts known to BOS as they will have to decide on what policies are put in place regarding cannabis.
While in my area we have seen increased vehicle traffic, some safety issues, and a few unfamiliar faces, the impact from two commercial growers has been substantially less than the recent opening of a new ranch. After most of a year of activity, I can’t say I have any evidence that says growing cannabis is any worse than rancing or growing alfalfa. If anything there is the opposite.
Tess T, after reflection, I realize that I went about it wrong, my intention was not to make you feel or look bad personally, I have no beef with you, at all(I enjoyed the conversation), but I made it seem that way, for that I apologize. I would add that your concern about local growers being taken over by corporate farms is valid and important, it should be local farmers. I could have and will from now on, use less specific examples to make my case, thank you for bringing it to my attention.
I don’t however believe that anything was twisted. The case had been made, that growers enjoying higher prices as a result of the illegal status of commercial growing, wouldn’t want to go legal because they could make more money in the black market, I am making that same case. I am making the case to illustrate to the Citizens Group for a Responsible Cannabis Ordinance, that they could inadvertently help to facilitate the activities they were trying to stop, some illegal growers also want it to stay illegal.
If commercial growing is banned, that’s okay with me too, I don’t like the commercialization of something that I have a deep reverence for, my motivation is merely to bring some honesty to this conversation. In the interest of honesty, I grow six plants and have in my past, purchased cannabis through illegal channels, I know growers and many of them are good people. I genuinely respect all opinions on this topic as long as they are rooted in achieving the most good to the most people. My motivation is to help cannabis achieve legitimacy and become something we don’t have to have long protracted conversations about.
In order to be taken seriously, or treated as a legitimate movement cannabis has to be legal. Cannabis consumers and growers have to stop undercutting cannabis’s path to legitimacy by thinking only of profits, it’s time to think of the community at large. Keeping it illegal to satisfy greed has led to safety issues, divisiveness and violence. This is wrong and it damages the image of the cannabis culture and the work that people have been putting in for decades to further the understanding and acceptance of cannabis. No one remembers the folks that grow and behave in a respectful way to those around them, but they will remember the greedy people doing it wrong for the wrong reasons, so I don’t mind de-incentivizing these activities through legalization. Will it work? I don’t know for sure, but I do know that what we’re doing and have been doing i.e. keeping it illegal, isn’t working. I don’t see how continuing to do the same thing we’ve been doing is going to help. Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.
I disagree with the Citizens Group for a Responsible Cannabis Ordinance that a commercial ban is the way to create a better community, but I respect that at least they are trying to change the direction we take as a county, based on the belief that they would be making it a better place for it’s citizens. I do however, want for them to understand that in trying to fix a problem, they may find themselves as strange bedfellows to the very people they are trying to dis-empower, in other words illegal growers. Lets face it, it’s not the people lining up and asking/volunteering to be regulated and taxed that are causing the problems we are seeing.
I’m going to get down off my soap box now, I’m getting a little tired of the divisiveness that I have inadvertently attributed to. Time to get back to enjoying this beautiful day!
Thank you.
I’m with you in that it is all about the community at large. Cannot imagine why someone would want to test their social-economic therories here. Why take the risk? Let a couple of the other counties jump in first while we sit back and watch how it goes for them. Is there really any reason for urgency? None that I can think of.
There is also a flaw in your local growers only plan. We have local growers with very big plans.
It seems only a slim percentage of voting citizens in this county are in favor of commercial marijuana cultivation at this point. Heck folks here may never be in favor of it. But it falls on our supervisors to cast their votes to match the wishes of the citizens they represent and who elected them into office. Right?
Hi Heartof Plumas
I’ve been giving considerable thought to your comment below.
“We may find themselves as strange bedfellows to the very people they are trying to dis-empower, in other words illegal growers.”
You are right, I can also see that as a possibility. But on the other hand I can also see Plumas County not stuck standing alone and being held hostage by those people.
Wouldn’t it be at least possible that the greedy state of California could become very upset over losing a cash stream that they believe is rightfully theirs and unleash their own version of shock and awe against illegal marijuana grows?
Time will tell.