By Monterey Bud

 

On Tuesday, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors finally began addressing, in earnest, the legalized cultivation of medical marijuana in the county’s unincorporated areas.

A mere 19 years after the passage of prop 215, the Monterey County Board of the Supervisors gave eight green thumbs-up to several recommendations from an Ad hoc committee to create specific rules and regulations for the legal cultivation of medical marijuana; including a proposed tax on commercial marijuana production, the allowance of commercial manufacturing of concentrates on-site, and an annual medical cannabis permit for the personal cultivation of 100 ft.² or less.

During yesterday’s meeting, voices from a broad spectrum of interests were each given one minute to express their concerns. Upset neighbors from Monterey’s “South County” voiced their fear over a perceived increase in drug-related crimes, world-class rose cultivators from Salinas wrapped their heads around this burgeoning new industry, outdoor cultivators from Big Sur to Carmel Valley voiced their opinion over apparent restrictions on outdoor medical marijuana cultivation, and patients preached to the uninformed about marijuana’s medicinal value.

All in all, it was just another day in the petri dish of democracy.

While gaining insightful information on the governing ordinances of outdoor cultivation was high on most attendees list,  it was the tax issue that seemed to hold center stage.

At $15 a square foot, most cultivators attending the meeting felt the initial tax rate was way too high.

Standing up for the overtaxed, Joey Espinoza, deputy director of Monterey County NORML and president of the Coastal Growers Association objected, “That’s an exorbitant amount to be paying.”  Explaining the direct correlation between expensive “white market marijuana,” and over taxation, Espinoza pointed out to the Board of Supervisors “we are being taxed by multiple agencies.” Espinoza concluded that higher taxes perpetuate the fiscal functionality of  today’s “black market.”

With fertile soil, skilled cultivators, and infrastructure geared towards moving produce around the country, agriculture in Monterey County was a $4.8 billion business in 2015. While not bad, imagine if the Board of Supervisors had seized the day back in 1996, establishing rules and regulations for the commercial cultivation of medical marijuana in Monterey County. Rather than acting like petulant children, obstinate in their dislike of things they don’t understand, Monterey County could be funding their long-broke schools, housing the homeless, and  helping the truly addicted with our state-sanctioned medical marijuana profits. Instead, they’re still trying to figure it all out.

FYI, the Board of Supervisors will dig into the remaining questions surrounding cultivation permits and tax issues at their July 19 meeting.

See you there…