Apologies for short hand this morning but the grand jury report is tough on the cannabis program top to bottom. We want to offer SUPPORT for the MCA memo & a separate cannabis standing committee. Thank you Laura & Marty Clein

I fully support MCAs memo regarding the Grand Jury Report. Especially this:
"the Board assigned future Cannabis issues to an already existing standing General Government Committee which, when operational, deals with a melting pot of numerous County related issues including the Legislative Platform. This year, according to the County’s website, the four previous meetings scheduled for the GGC were all canceled and only two more are scheduled before 2023. This poses a serious problem in terms of the GGC’s oversight of the cannabis program.

The Larger Problem

Cannabis issues are complex, requiring focused and informed attention to the challenging issues facing stakeholders. The agreed-upon goal is to concretely support the ability of our cannabis operators to survive and thrive in this brutally competitive marketplace. The benefit to the County in significant tax revenue was proven in the first year after legalization. This potential cannot be realized through the actions of a General Governing Committee that meets rarely and is charged with attending to a myriad of disparate issues.

MCA urges a different approach. The Board and the County would be best served by creating a Cannabis Standing Committee, effective immediately, to ensure continuity and success in the cannabis program as recommended by the Grand Jury. Supervisor Haschak has, on several occasions, offered to serve on such a standing committee.

Over the past few years, Supervisor Haschak has been deeply involved in the complicated details of working through local and state cannabis policies. He has met with, and formed working relationships with, many of the state and regional cannabis regulators. His long-standing relationship with the cannabis community has provided him with the insights needed to understand the problems we face. It would be smart to not lose such valuable experience.

We need a robust and effective standing committee that meets often to oversee the issues impacting the entire County cannabis industry. It takes time for any committee to get up to speed on the complex rules, procedures, actions and failures to act that are an acknowledged part of our short legal history. In that short time the cannabis industry has become the largest economic driver in the county. With the many challenging deadlines posed by the state, we simply cannot afford to refuse to initiate a Cannabis Standing Committee that will ensure that the recommendations it brings to the Board are fully vetted and timely."

Years into this cannabis program, I'm still requesting your full support of small legacy cannabis farmers in Mendocino. Work WITH the Farmers instead of AGAINST them. Thanks, Marnie Birger

Good morning Supervisors,

I would like to offer my support for the MCA memo submitted for this agenda item. I, too feel that we should have a Standing Committee to address the many outstanding cannabis issues rather than a General Government Committee that has historically only met a few times per year. It's disheartening that this is the new direction the Board has decided to take in addressing cannabis related items. We need a committee that is committed to work with stakeholders on a regular basis until ALL of the cannabis issues are resolved. How does the Board see the use of a General Government Committee as being the best solution to resolve all of the cannabis issues since it meets so infrequently? Especially if Supervisor Haschak has historically been the only one to continue to step forward to volunteer time to work on the issues over the last several years but is not serving on the GGC committee?

We need supervisors that understand the nuanced issues, and ideally have been attending all the stakeholder meetings we've been having over these past few years. This knowledge and understanding is crucial in resolving the existing problems and getting us to a stable place with our cannabis program. Every cannabis operator that I know is holding on by a thread including my farm. We need solutions now, not in a few months. Many of the issues are super time sensitive and if not figured out soon, will result in a larger pool of farms having to fold their business and that will have drastic impacts to our fragile local economy. Please reconsider your position for a GGC to address cannabis issues and instead form a Standing Committee! Small farms are relying on you for your leadership in this important time. Thank you so much.

Sincerely,
Monique Ramirez
Specialty Cottage Outdoor Farmer
District 3

Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
501 Low Gap Road
Ukiah, CA 95482

Re: item 4e for 09/13 - Grand Jury Report on the Cannabis Equity Program

Honorable Supervisors:

MCA welcomes the recent Grand Jury report for its recognition of some of the significant problems related to County policies and the Cannabis Department. The report makes recommendations, both broadly, and specifically with respect to the slow disbursement of funds in the LJAG Program and MCA concurs with the Grand Jury’s concerns.

There are also a number of recommendations that the Grand Jury makes with regard to the administration of the County cannabis program, but MCA focuses on one issue that highlights our overriding concern for the County’s administration of cannabis permits and regulations, which are addressed below and titled “The Larger Problem.”

The first recommendation (R-1) states:

R1. the BOS initiate a standing committee on cannabis including, but not limited to, consideration of LEEP progress updates, issues and challenges, and encouraging community input. The Grand Jury notes while all businesses are not equity applicants, these issues may be relevant as future grants (e.g., LJAG grants), become available. (F1- F5)

The BoS Response to the Grand Jury report indicates that this recommendation has been implemented. However, it is important to note that the Board did not, in fact, initiate a standing committee on cannabis. Rather, the Board assigned future Cannabis issues to an already existing standing General Government Committee which, when operational, deals with a melting pot of numerous County related issues including the Legislative Platform. This year, according to the County’s website, the four previous meetings scheduled for the GGC were all canceled and only two more are scheduled before 2023. This poses a serious problem in terms of the GGC’s oversight of the cannabis program.

The Larger Problem

Cannabis issues are complex, requiring focused and informed attention to the challenging issues facing stakeholders. The agreed-upon goal is to concretely support the ability of our cannabis operators to survive and thrive in this brutally competitive marketplace. The benefit to the County in significant tax revenue was proven in the first year after legalization. This potential cannot be realized through the actions of a General Governing Committee that meets rarely and is charged with attending to a myriad of disparate issues.

MCA urges a different approach. The Board and the County would be best served by creating a Cannabis Standing Committee, effective immediately, to ensure continuity and success in the cannabis program as recommended by the Grand Jury. Supervisor Haschak has, on several occasions, offered to serve on such a standing committee.

Over the past few years, Supervisor Haschak has been deeply involved in the complicated details of working through local and state cannabis policies. He has met with, and formed working relationships with, many of the state and regional cannabis regulators. His long-standing relationship with the cannabis community has provided him with the insights needed to understand the problems we face. It would be smart to not lose such valuable experience.

We need a robust and effective standing committee that meets often to oversee the issues impacting the entire County cannabis industry. It takes time for any committee to get up to speed on the complex rules, procedures, actions and failures to act that are an acknowledged part of our short legal history. In that short time the cannabis industry has become the largest economic driver in the county. With the many challenging deadlines posed by the state, we simply cannot afford to refuse to initiate a Cannabis Standing Committee that will ensure that the recommendations it brings to the Board are fully vetted and timely.

As always, MCA is committed to assisting the newly formed Cannabis Standing Committee to help identify and prioritize the issues facing the stakeholders as well as the broader problems facing the County.

Sincerely,

Mendocino Cannabis Alliance
e: mailto:info@mendocannabis.com