Page 13 - Sonoma County Gazette - August 2018

OPINION: Mama Told Me There’d Be Days Like This By Terry Garrett
their property values will decline where cannabis resides nearby. Just ask any cannabis operator who has purchased property in the past two years if they paid below market. They have paid premium prices, as have non-cannabis buyers. Cannabis is a significant economic driver simply because it makes land productive to such a higher degree (500 times greater) than any other crop in Sonoma County. That can only drive property value up, not down.
The two main complaints proffered by opponents, crime and
Odor aversion, excessive traffic and natural resource degradation. The latter can be subject to factual testing like crime and property value. In short, the natural resource degradation claim isn’t true for legal cannabis cultivation sites. Period. The regulations forbid it. It is true for some illegal grow sites and they should be shut down hard. Everyone except the culprits agrees with that.
Cannabis is controversial...and...it’s an amazing plant. Cannabis is a mystery and it is the Devil’s weed. Cannabis is an economic boom. Cannabis is a lot of things to a lot of people.
What it is NOT: easy to regulate for government institutions not prepared or equipped to regulate it with speed, adequate due diligence and an aim to building an economic future.
State and local governments in California have failed to carve a legal channel for cannabis that doesn’t eviscerate the incumbent players. It’s not their fault. It’s like we asked them to slice a loaf of bread with a rock. That means it’s still their responsibility and it requires a stronger brand of leadership to make the process work.
property value threats, are factually false. What’s left?
Aside from the tension between cannabis operators and cannabis opponents, there is one voice with an interest in the subject who has been marginalized in the process and that is the cannabis consumer.
Odor and traffic go with commercial agriculture.
Why do people consume Cannabis?
Some people like the fragrance of cannabis and some don’t. The same goes for the Sonoma aroma. I and many others suffer from pollen allergies due to prolific plant life in Sonoma County. It’s my responsibility to treat it or move to an area that doesn’t have the proliferation. It is not the responsibility of everyone else to quit growing stuff to fix my or anyone’s allergy problem.
There are an estimated 65,000 plus cannabis consumers in Sonoma County. I surveyed a sample population of them last year and asked, what are you expecting cannabis to do for you?
Here’s what they said:
97%: I want to sleep better at night.
96%: I want to relax and prevent anxiety.
95%: I want to relieve pain.
89%: I want to enjoy the taste of cannabis products. 52%: I want to break down cancer cells.
67%: I want to improve my appetite.
One respondent shared, “It helps greatly with my multiple sclerosis”. Others stated ailments like PTSD that cannabis provides curative benefits. Some folks enjoy consuming for pleasure, like drinking wine or beer.
As for traffic, there is no more or less traffic for cannabis than other agricultural operations. It just goes with commercial farming activity like wine grapes or swiss chard. Since the opposition can’t legally oppose other commercial crops due to right to farm, they can and do protest the only crop they can that is not protected by right to farm; cannabis.
There is nothing to fear except fear itself.
Two years ago, Sonoma County was producing a couple billion dollars in cannabis each year. Through regulation we’ve reduced that to a small fraction. The negative economic impact is like extremely high blood pressure; it’s a slow, silent killer.
The fear-mongering tactics by the Sheriff’s department nudging an all too eager media to promote scintillating crime stories, has created the perception that every rural home in Sonoma County is the target of the dumbest, meanest criminals on the planet thanks to cannabis. It’s not true by a long shot, but perception rules the day and irrational fear triumphs.
First signs of financial death and injury are the direct suppliers to cultivators. Check. Then we’ll see 10-20% declines in income for small restaurants and retailers, then professional services and so on. We are all affected adversely when a major industry severely contracts.
There has been an average of four violent crimes reported per year for the past three years related to cannabis targets. That is among thousands of the same kind of violent crimes committed; robberies of banks, jewelry stores, convenience stores and others.
One opponent stated at a Cannabis Advisory Group meeting that she didn’t care about the economics of cannabis. She only cared about her peace and happiness, and that was true for the public in general. She’s wrong. Economics is a significant social system that unites us. And the “public” of cannabis opponents is so small a percent (less than one percent) of the general population that we shouldn’t conflate the two.
The false fear factor has created a hysteria that rachets up the urgency and severity of opposition against cannabis cultivation.
We need a long-term vision for cannabis in Sonoma County. So far county leadership has not stepped up with one. What we have in its stead is a protracted barfight. The bouncers need to break it up and restore order. Let’s build the economy instead.
Based on what some opponents have stated in public hearings, I suspect that greater than the fear of crime, there is a fear among property owners that
Impact on Economics
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