Category: News

Cannabis fight heats up

Neighbors gearing up for a protracted battle over proposed changes to cannabis cultivation By TYLER SILVYARGUS-COURIER EDITOR Just south of the historic Washoe House bar northwest of Petaluma, the first hints of neighborhood agitations against the area’s nascent cannabis industry appear on the asphalt of Pepper Road. In barely discernible white spray painted letters, someone has…
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California drought continues to intensify – Let’s produce 60,000 acres of water sucking drugs!

California drought continues to intensify; Cooler temperature and robust marine layer to offer some temporary relief Filed in Weather/Climate Discussion by Daniel Swain on May 10, 2021 • 196 Comments California descends deeper into drought; “Drought Emergency” declared in NorCal Well, unfortunately, the overall drought trajectory has not changed since the last post: it’s still getting worse. And pretty rapidly worse,…
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Gullixson: Do we really want Santa Rosa to become the mecca for marijuana?

August 28, 2016Press Democrat BY PAUL GULLIXSON “Santa Rosa wants this industry here. I think this is probably going to be the New Age Amsterdam.” – Larry Schaeffer, owner of Cherry Kola Farms near Penngrove, a medical cannabis collective Really? Says who? I don’t mean to be rude. But who in the world made the…
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Misleading claims about cannabis

There are several misleading claims in Ron Ferraro’s April 28 op-ed, Cultivating Cannabis in Sonoma County. The public hearing process is not normally a three to five year process. If the county and the industry had not brazenly decided on cannabis regulations without listening to or responding to neighborhood concerns, cannabis applications would have moved…
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Wine Country Fights Back in Weed Wars

© PANNA | Cannabis cultivation has ballooned in California and winemakers worry about its impact.Grapegrowers and wine producers are pushing back against the cannabis industry’s push into prime California wine country.By Kathleen Willcox | Posted Wednesday, 05-May-2021 California winemakers are scrambling for survival as the biggest cannabis farms on earth make their way into wine country, bringing…
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Real estate disclosure and Sonoma County cannabis

If the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approves the draft cannabis ordinance, some permits will be ministerial with no notice given to neighbors and no way to object to site-specific particulars. Health and safety protections and notice to impacted neighbors will disappear. The presumption is that a cannabis operation is no different than a tomato…
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Re: Recent Sonoma West article, the bogus notion of Sonoma marijuana terroir

Following was recently posted on Sonoma West site, but apparently did not meet editorial guidelines. RE: Recent Sonoma West article Barnum & Bailey coined the phrase “there’s a sucker born every minute.” This seems to be the business model of pot promoters who proclaim grass grown in Sonoma County is somehow “better” or different,” prompting…
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Proposed cannabis regs ‘cookie cutter’ approach

There is a reason that of 58 California counties only 15 allow outdoor commercial cannabis. Impacts on neighborhoods are just too severe to offset with any mitigations. Sonoma County started out with a use permit process, which is what is required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) but is now attempting to go to…
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Lack of planning?

Dear Editor: Sonoma County wants to be a mecca for outdoor cannabis cultivation, boasting that people prefer Sonoma County weed because of soil and climate. Yet they bring in external soil, discard spent soil, and shield plants from our natural climate in hoop houses or greenhouses. The proposed new ordinance will attract big players from…
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Strange bedfellows behind Sonoma County’s cannabis push

The North Bay Leadership Council endorsed an extreme cannabis ordinance that invites massive outdoor cultivation in Sonoma County. Friedman’s Home Improvement, Comcast, Redwood Credit Union, Wells Fargo Bank, Kaiser Permanente, St. Joseph Health, and Sutter Health are on its letterhead.  The proposal eliminates health, safety, and nuisance protections for anyone subjected to noxious terpene pollution—the…
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