Calaveras County Board of Supervisors fails to pass Marijuana Ordinance

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on April 14, 2016.

The Calaveras County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday failed to pass the emergency ordinance for medical marijuana cultivation, that would have set zoning standards until a permanent regulation is drafted and adopted in six months to a year.

Apart from growing of medical marijuana in the county, the ordinance would have limited marijuana production to farms that were already in operation before February 16. It also would have banned commercial cultivation in single family residential areas.

The Board of Supervisors spent hours hearing comments on the emergency ordinance to regulate medical marijuana.

Supervisors Chris Wright and Debbie Ponte appealed their colleagues to support the emergency ordinance, arguing that board has an obligation to slow the rush of land buyers fleeing other jurisdictions where bans are in place.

On the other hand, Supervisors Cliff Edson pointed out that the ordinance would help control the significant increase in people coming in to grow marijuana, since it has recently been banned in many nearby counties.

Executive Director of the Calaveras Cannabis Alliance, Caz Tomaszewski observed that around seventy-five percent of marijuana growers in the county would now become Butte Fire Victims.

However, the ordinance that needed 80 percent of the board to vote in favor, failed on a 2-3 vote. Supervisors Cliff Edson, Steve Kearney and Michael Oliveira opposed the ordinance.

As per the verdict, cultivation of marijuana in Calaveras may remain potentially unregulated for an additional half year.

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