Angels Camp, CA…Why Vote No on D when it offers “Control for Commercial Cannabis”? Simple — Measure D is a hastily and poorly written legislation. It lacks the necessary authority for law enforcement and code compliance to do their jobs! It is in conflict with current zoning law. It has a seriously flawed land-lease component. Measure D expands commercial cultivation of Marijuana/Cannabis crops to full recreational use. It fails to even mention “Medical Marijuana” anywhere in its language. Measure D puts the Handcuff’s on Law Enforcement and must be defeated!

Why Bardon Stevenot and Merita Callaway, two legacy residents of our county, are sponsoring this misguided legislation is bewildering and disappointing. Their premise that we must pass this flawed
legislation to permit control over the profit driven desires of outsiders can only lead to the destruction of our beautiful rural county. Measure D is at best “agenda driven” deception.

Measure D incorporates a cumbersome change/updating process. If changes to this legislation are required it must go back to the voters for approval; a slow, costly and cumbersome task. Implementation of a measure of this complexity and consequence will require intense first year monitoring and modifying to get it right. This task needs to be handled by the Board of Supervisors, our county’s legislative body.

Measure D Authors’ and Supporters’ talking points are intentionally misleading:

It’s all about the money!
The claim: Measure D along with Measure C, [the tax measure], will give law enforcement the needed dollars to control this crime attracting industry. Not true. Estimates are that enforcement could require 150%+ of the combined measures’ revenue. Remember, Cannabis remains a mostly underground
industry, some growers will pay-up, but profits will be mis-reported and the county has no means of
verification. It’s an all cash industry leaving no paper trails. And, all too often, when legislative funding promises fall short, the residents are the ones who pick up the bill — through additional taxation!
It’s about jobs for our youth!

The claim: Our youths will have good jobs right here at home. Really? Would we rather not see our youth become fireman, licensed foresters, arborist, biomass managers and operators, trained watershed and wetlands workers and biologist? These positions contribute to workmans-comp, state and federal taxes, medical insurance and retirement plans – all trackable and beneficial to our county.

Water is not an Issue, Cannabis growers are environmentalist!
The claim: That cannabis growers care about the environment and use the most sophisticated watering techniques to reduce water consumption. This is an outright lie. Water theft in areas of cannabis grows has risen dramatically. Diversion from rivers and streams is rampant. Tapping into ranchers ponds is
flagrant. Cannabis is a thirsty plant that requires vast amounts of water. And, what of the dangerous pesticides and fertilizers that require on-site hazardous storage and one-time use soils which must be hauled to special hazardous dump sites for disposal?

Finally, public safety!
County residents report having encountered all manner of disgusting elements attendant to the growers’ operations, such as having been confronted by gun carrying bullies demanding they leave the area
immediately — and, all to often these residents are on there own land!
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