Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
To the Editor: On Oct. 19, at 3 p.m., the Health and Human Services Committee will be discussing Medical Marijuana Regulation Ordinance 9.31 that would allow collectives and cooperatives a county granted exemption to exceed the 25 plant per parcel limit and grow 99 plants. The new ordinance would impose strict conditions for medical marijuana production and could bring the underground and sometimes quasi-legal industry into a regulatory scheme that would benefit patients, growers and our community as a whole.
"Section 9.31.110 (A) Medical marijuana producing collectives and dispensing collectives or individual members thereof may be granted an exemption from the limitations set forth in Section 9.31.070 provided they apply for and obtain a permit from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office. Under no circumstances shall the permitted amount exceed ninety-nine (99) plants per legal parcel."
The current draft of these regulations take into account many of the community's concerns including: public safety, nuisances, environmental issues, patient's rights, water conservation, not-for-profit operation, safe access to quality medicine, taxes, workers rights, jobs, sustainability, and licensing fees.
Bringing medical marijuana out of the shadows would create jobs, raise much needed funds our county, bring hard-working citizens into the lawful tax paying world with worker rights, workman's comp, benefits, and finally shed new light on the county's largest grossing
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crop.
Mendocino County is already known for its sustainable image that we gain from the "back-to-the-land" movement, bio-dynamics movement, our organic culture, our alternative energy industry, our cutting edge No-GMO laws, and our rich heritage in environmentalism. As the future of medical marijuana policy unfolds around our state and nation at an exponential rate, it is important for Mendocino County, with the largest part of its economy being marijuana, to lead the way, to stake a claim and to do it in a sustainable and ethical way.
Conscious community based growers need to realize that the state of cannabis is changing. Medical cannabis policy is starting to have a national platform as more and more states pass these laws. California has three different full legalization initiatives being discussed at a legislative level and the polls seem to be in favor of legalization. Schwarzenegger himself has put a task force to investigating the benefits of legalization and there are now estimates from the Board of Equalization stating the billions of dollars in tax revenue that legalization would create.
Patients need effective production standards that keep the medicine safe, consistent and effective, but not so unreasonably bureaucratic that it sizes the small farmer out of the industry, much like with our food... In the beef industry, small organic cattle farms may have to ship their cattle to USDA approved processing plants that can be many hundreds of miles away, which essentially makes it unprofitable for the small farmers. Current dairy regulations won't even allow for small farmers to legally sell raw milk to interested consumers that would like to have it pure and unpasteurized. Big agricultural interests love regulations; especially the ones that only they can afford to endure with the long list of hoops to jump through. We need to take control of medical cannabis regulation, to protect the patients, to protect the small farmer, to keep the industry decentralized and to keep our money local.
I am the Executive Director of Northstone Organics, an exclusive medical cannabis patient cooperative, serving the needs of patients from here down and throughout the Greater Bay Area. We deliver fine medicinal grade organic medicinal cannabis, produce, pasture raised eggs and much more to our patient's door at an affordable cost. We are a not-for-profit cooperative corporation which is regulated by the Secretary of State which is in accordance with the Attorney General's Guidelines. The revenue generated pays for our operational costs which includes our employee's salaries. The medicinal cannabis is cooperatively grown by our patient grower members and we all work together to get it to the patient members that have no time or ability to contribute to the organization.
We want to keep Mendocino "green," we want to keep the positive parts of this culture in tact, and we want to keep small farmers doing what they do best.
Show your support for a regulated sustainable medicinal cannabis industry and come to the Health and Human Services meeting on Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. in Conference Room C at the Mendocino County Administration Center, 501 Low Gap Road.
Matthew Cohen
Executive Director
Northstone Organics Cooperative, Inc.
Redwood Valley
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal
Copyright: 2009 Ukiah Daily Journal
Contact: Contact Us - Ukiah Daily Journal
Website: Support county collectives effort - Ukiah Daily Journal
"Section 9.31.110 (A) Medical marijuana producing collectives and dispensing collectives or individual members thereof may be granted an exemption from the limitations set forth in Section 9.31.070 provided they apply for and obtain a permit from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office. Under no circumstances shall the permitted amount exceed ninety-nine (99) plants per legal parcel."
The current draft of these regulations take into account many of the community's concerns including: public safety, nuisances, environmental issues, patient's rights, water conservation, not-for-profit operation, safe access to quality medicine, taxes, workers rights, jobs, sustainability, and licensing fees.
Bringing medical marijuana out of the shadows would create jobs, raise much needed funds our county, bring hard-working citizens into the lawful tax paying world with worker rights, workman's comp, benefits, and finally shed new light on the county's largest grossing
Advertisement
crop.
Mendocino County is already known for its sustainable image that we gain from the "back-to-the-land" movement, bio-dynamics movement, our organic culture, our alternative energy industry, our cutting edge No-GMO laws, and our rich heritage in environmentalism. As the future of medical marijuana policy unfolds around our state and nation at an exponential rate, it is important for Mendocino County, with the largest part of its economy being marijuana, to lead the way, to stake a claim and to do it in a sustainable and ethical way.
Conscious community based growers need to realize that the state of cannabis is changing. Medical cannabis policy is starting to have a national platform as more and more states pass these laws. California has three different full legalization initiatives being discussed at a legislative level and the polls seem to be in favor of legalization. Schwarzenegger himself has put a task force to investigating the benefits of legalization and there are now estimates from the Board of Equalization stating the billions of dollars in tax revenue that legalization would create.
Patients need effective production standards that keep the medicine safe, consistent and effective, but not so unreasonably bureaucratic that it sizes the small farmer out of the industry, much like with our food... In the beef industry, small organic cattle farms may have to ship their cattle to USDA approved processing plants that can be many hundreds of miles away, which essentially makes it unprofitable for the small farmers. Current dairy regulations won't even allow for small farmers to legally sell raw milk to interested consumers that would like to have it pure and unpasteurized. Big agricultural interests love regulations; especially the ones that only they can afford to endure with the long list of hoops to jump through. We need to take control of medical cannabis regulation, to protect the patients, to protect the small farmer, to keep the industry decentralized and to keep our money local.
I am the Executive Director of Northstone Organics, an exclusive medical cannabis patient cooperative, serving the needs of patients from here down and throughout the Greater Bay Area. We deliver fine medicinal grade organic medicinal cannabis, produce, pasture raised eggs and much more to our patient's door at an affordable cost. We are a not-for-profit cooperative corporation which is regulated by the Secretary of State which is in accordance with the Attorney General's Guidelines. The revenue generated pays for our operational costs which includes our employee's salaries. The medicinal cannabis is cooperatively grown by our patient grower members and we all work together to get it to the patient members that have no time or ability to contribute to the organization.
We want to keep Mendocino "green," we want to keep the positive parts of this culture in tact, and we want to keep small farmers doing what they do best.
Show your support for a regulated sustainable medicinal cannabis industry and come to the Health and Human Services meeting on Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. in Conference Room C at the Mendocino County Administration Center, 501 Low Gap Road.
Matthew Cohen
Executive Director
Northstone Organics Cooperative, Inc.
Redwood Valley
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal
Copyright: 2009 Ukiah Daily Journal
Contact: Contact Us - Ukiah Daily Journal
Website: Support county collectives effort - Ukiah Daily Journal
