Page 7 - Sonoma County Gazette 11-19

OPINION: Sonoma County Proposing Hemp Growing Rules
By Patricia Dines
Did you know that Sonoma County is finalizing its rules for growing hemp
here? They’ve certainly flown under the radar on this!
Did you also know that hemp and cannabis are just different strains of the
same plant (think different types of apples)? Hemp just doesn’t have the THC levels that give cannabis its psychoactive high.
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ntense discharges next to your home or children!
Land use policy is about putting compatible uses together — and keeping incompatible ones apart!
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It does this through zoning limits, permitting, setbacks for separation, notification requirements, water
evaluations, and more. And there’s currently a discussion about refining these rules, based on lessons learned in reality.
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Hemp Proposal: Unfortunately, though, the proposed hemp regulations would not give our homes and other sensitive areas these same protections! Instead, it would place hemp under County “Right to Farm” laws, which would remove much of our power to object to these known impacts.
The weaker rules could also encourage growers to claim to grow hemp, then actually grow cannabis — since the plants look the same!
Plus, if hemp is allowed without setbacks and/or in residential agricultural zones (e.g. RR and AR), growers would likely push for weaker rules for cannabis!
What You Can Do Now: Now is the time to speak up, when the rules are being formed. By the time it’s happening on a property near you, it’ll be too late! It seems sensible to ask the County to regulate hemp just like cannabis, retaining all the people-protecting rules. At the very least, hemp should have the same setbacks and zoning restrictions as cannabis.
In any case, let’s look before we leap—so we don’t have to pay the price later.
• Nov. 7, 1 pm, Possible presentation of the proposal to
Planning Commission for its vote, 2550 Ventura Ave. Santa Rosa, www.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Planning-Commission
Attend Public Meetings
• Dec. 16, 8:30 am, Possible presentation of the proposal to
Board of Supervisors, 575 Administration Drive 102A, Santa Rosa
• Note: Regulations need to be in place by April 2020.
Give Written Feedback
• Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner Tony.Linegar@sonoma-county.org
• Planning Commission (before Nov. 7), Arielle.Kohn@sonoma-county.org
• Board of Supervisors (before Dec. 16)
• Contact information at: www.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Board-of-
Supervisors/Contact-Board-of-Supervisors.
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