Agriculture
Adelaide, Cholame, Lake Nacimiento, Oak Shores, San Miguel, Shandon, Whitley Gardens, Baywood Park, California Men’s Colony, Cal Poly State University, Cambria, Cayucos, Cuesta-by-the-Sea, Cuesta College, Harmony, Los Osos, San Simeon, Avila Beach, Country Club, Edna-Los Ranchos, Edna Valley, Rolling Hills Estate, Shell Beach, Squire Canyon, Sunset Palisades, Black Lake Canyon, Callendar-Garrett, Cuyama, Halcyon, Huasna-Lopez, Los Berros, Nipomo, Nipomo Mesa, Oceano, Palo Mesa, California Valley, Creston, Garden Farms, Pozo, Santa Margarita. The county has regulations for personal cultivation, dispensaries, commercial cultivation, nurseries, manufacturing, testing, and distribution facilities. in California recognize the incompatibilities and simply don’t allow it,” said Van Duren. There are additional requirements for any permitted cannabis activity, such as cultivation, Beth Parham, a resident of Paso Robles, nurseries, distribution, and manufacturing, works for a dispensary in San Luis Obispo. among a few others. Parham only recently started working and showing interest in the cannabis industry. She First is Separation from Sensitive Uses: “All and her husband use it about once a month. permitted cannabis activities are required to be separated at least six-hundred (600) feet from Parham and her husband started to grow any pre-school, elementary school, junior high their cannabis plants out of curiosity and fun school, high school, library, park, playground, when it became legalized. When a position recreation or youth center, licensed drug or opened up at a dispensary in SLO, she thought, alcohol recovery facility, or licensed sober liv- why not try it out. ing facility. “I am absolutely in favor of commercial However, nurseries and cultivation are re- cannabis operations, including cannabis culquired to be separated by 1,000 feet but can tivation. Cannabis growers aren’t the stoners request a modification. or criminals people imagine. They are farmers, just like all the produce farmers in the area, When it comes to cannabis cultivation, including the vineyards. Really, cannabis is water is a big concern for many. The county just another crop that people are hesitant to has a one-to-one water offset requirement allow in the community, just like grapes were for cannabis cultivation and nurseries in areas years ago. The only difference is that cannawhere the groundwater basin is at a severe level. bis, according to reports, uses less water. And Cannabis activities may not truck in water for since it is harvested as a whole plant and isn’t their operations. left to go dormant, poses less of a fire hazard. Tax revenue isn’t the only benefit cannabis can But the split vote between county supervi- bring to a community. It brings jobs, income, sors is just an example of how split our county and medicinal properties, including what some is on cannabis. believe to be an alternative to pharmaceuticals.” Drew Van Duren, a resident of Templeton, For many who support the cannabis industry has been an active voice in the county against in SLO County, increased tax revenue is one cannabis cultivation. He has previously spoken of the first points they bring up. out against a potential cannabis farm near his home. Van Duren counters by saying cannabis is an unethical way to bring money into the county. “My stance is laser-focused on the commercial growing and production of cannabis, and He says, “Whether or not cannabis makes I’m very much against it being done in places money for the county is entirely beside the where it can have a detrimental effect on the point. What matters most is how it makes environment, resources, and the health and that money. We should all question the ethical wellbeing of the population that shares that backbone of any county official or Supervisor environment. Proposition 64 didn’t authorize who endorses a policy that pads cannabis inthis. Furthermore, 79 percent of the counties dustry and county coffers on the backs of comCentralCoastJournal.com
munities and their own constituents. There are over 2 million acres of unincorporated land in SLO County; a huge portion of that is zoned agricultural, some rural-residential. Most of those acres are in the strike zone of today’s SLO County cannabis ordinance, this despite the fact that the USDA does not categorize marijuana cannabis a ‘right to farm’ commodity to begin with.” Parham feels people in our community who want to invest in cannabis cultivation are not trying to harm our community but instead bring in revenue and help rebuild our economy. She explains, “The cannabis industry isn’t here to take over our communities. It isn’t here to bring crime or a decline in the quality of the community. It isn’t here to be a detriment. It is here to be a benefit. It is here to bring people a possible alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals. It is here to possibly bring a more profitable life to local farmers. It is here to bring more tax revenue to a community that was troubled by COVID and to provide more jobs for individuals like you and me. It isn’t the nightmare some people think it is. And, properly regulated and monitored, could be an incredibly advantageous addition to our community.”
If you or someone you know would like to share your insight into the subject, send an email to: camille@13starsmedia.com. FEBRUARY 2022 | 23
