Commercial cannabis — What do you envision for our children?
Recently, Susanville City Councilmembers Kevin Stafford, Thomas Herrera and Quincy McCourt approved a city ordinance permitting up to three marijuana dispensaries inside the Susanville city limits. Ordinance No. 22-1033 also includes indoor commercial cultivation, testing, cloning, infusing, processing, delivering, warehousing and distribution to other businesses, and sales of marijuana within the city limits in order to “save Susanville financially.”
For the county, supervisor Chris Gallagher brought the idea of grows and dispensaries back to the forefront after it had been rejected time and again. Outgoing supervisors Tom Hammond and Jeff Hemphill joined him in the vote to “generate income for our ailing coffers.”
A very tiny zoning map was given to me upon request. After I enlarged it enough to read the street names, I was able to locate Zone C-2, which includes general commercial businesses and shopping centers. C-2 zones are available for marijuana dispensaries, testing and manufacturing cannabis/marijuana.
Cannabis/marijuana means; all or parts of the Cannabis Sativa Linnaeus, Cannabis Indica, or Cannabis Ruderalis, whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, the resin, whether crude or purified, extracted from any part of the plant and every compound, manufacture, salt derivative, mixture or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin. Cannabis also means the separated resin, whether crude or purified, obtained from cannabis, according to Ordinance No. 22-1033.
Commercial cannabis activities include the cultivation, possession, manufacture, distribution, processing, storing, laboratory testing, packaging, labeling, transportation, delivery, dispensing or sale of cannabis or cannabis products.
Cannabis manufacturing site means the premises that produces, prepares, propagates or compounds manufactured cannabis or cannabis products either directly or indirectly or by extraction and chemical synthesis at a fixed location that packages or repackages cannabis goods or labels or relabels its container.
C-2 Zones include Numa Road, Skyline Road, the length of Ash Street, North Mesa Street (just off Main), parts of Riverside Drive, all of Main Street (except for the high school and its buffer zone), and 11 blocks near the old Courthouse — all heading toward Main Street.
Other zones allowing cannabis/marijuana, are Zone M, which shall allow dispensaries and micro-businesses. Zone M includes Sierra Road.
Zone UBD is Uptown, and will allow one dispensary.
Zone C-M will allow dispensaries and micro businesses. Zone C-M includes Chestnut Street, Cypress and Paul Bunyan and Ash.
Zone M-L will allow dispensaries and micro-businesses. (These streets are not identified yet.)
Anyone may clearly see that our city councilmembers who voted for Ordinance No. 22-1033 are so convinced that cannabis is the key to our financial success that they are willing fully embrace all of the aspects of growing and selling it. But what about the ramifications of this industry for our city?
Thomas Herrera, Quincy McCourt and Kevin Stafford envision Susanville as the hub for cannabis for all of Northern California.
Remember — at the county level we have Jeff Hemphill, Chris Gallagher and Tom Hammond eager to begin counting millions of dollars by selling out our community to drug growers and drug dealers.
Look around your neighborhood. What do you envision for our children? Where can they safely play?
“The proposed zoning changes will result in land uses that are compatible with existing and future uses and will not be detrimental to the public interest, health, safety, convenience or welfare of the city.”
Oh, really?
Leann Vanderley, Litchfield