Oakland approves measures allowing large marijuana farms, small growers upset
by Sean Alfano
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, July 21st 2010, 10:25 AM
Sullivan/Getty Oakland, Calif. is hoping to cash in on marijuana.
Marijuana farms
Should marijuana be legally mass-produced?
Yes, if regulated, it is a safe drug for both recreational and medicinal use.
No, it is a drug that can lead to more serious drug use and increase crime.
Oakland's City Council is high on marijuana as a budding business.
The California city's politicians adopted measures that give the go-ahead for large-scale pot farms as a way to generate revenue and regulate the industry late Tuesday night.
In other words, Oakland wants cannabis to go capitalist.
The city will give permits for four, industrial-sized operations, which can be as large as 100,000 square feet, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
The move could really pay off for the city if state voters approve Prop. 19, a November ballot initiative that would legalize recreational use of pot.
For starters, applicants must spend $5,000 to cover the administrative costs the city will charge. They must also have $3 million for insurance and fork over a $211,000 annual permit fee to the city.
As of now, the four dispensaries that operate in Oakland grossed roughly $28 million in 2009 and the city plans to raise its current 1.8% tax to as much as 12%, the Oakland Tribune reported.
But not everyone is pleased with the city's new regulations, especially small marijuana farmers, who say the four pot factories will push them out of business and dilute the product.
"Government should not choose the winners and losers but create a level playing field," said Steve DeAngelo, who runs the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the country and opposes the City Council decision. "Some people might prefer mass production, assembly-line cannabis that costs less. Others might prefer cannabis grown by a master gardener in a smaller plot.
"Let the market sort it out," DeAngelo told the Chronicle.
In 1996, California voters decided that marijuana can be classified as medicine.
Read more: Oakland approves measures allowing large marijuana farms, small growers upset
by Sean Alfano
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, July 21st 2010, 10:25 AM
Sullivan/Getty Oakland, Calif. is hoping to cash in on marijuana.
Marijuana farms
Should marijuana be legally mass-produced?
Yes, if regulated, it is a safe drug for both recreational and medicinal use.
No, it is a drug that can lead to more serious drug use and increase crime.
Oakland's City Council is high on marijuana as a budding business.
The California city's politicians adopted measures that give the go-ahead for large-scale pot farms as a way to generate revenue and regulate the industry late Tuesday night.
In other words, Oakland wants cannabis to go capitalist.
The city will give permits for four, industrial-sized operations, which can be as large as 100,000 square feet, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
The move could really pay off for the city if state voters approve Prop. 19, a November ballot initiative that would legalize recreational use of pot.
For starters, applicants must spend $5,000 to cover the administrative costs the city will charge. They must also have $3 million for insurance and fork over a $211,000 annual permit fee to the city.
As of now, the four dispensaries that operate in Oakland grossed roughly $28 million in 2009 and the city plans to raise its current 1.8% tax to as much as 12%, the Oakland Tribune reported.
But not everyone is pleased with the city's new regulations, especially small marijuana farmers, who say the four pot factories will push them out of business and dilute the product.
"Government should not choose the winners and losers but create a level playing field," said Steve DeAngelo, who runs the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the country and opposes the City Council decision. "Some people might prefer mass production, assembly-line cannabis that costs less. Others might prefer cannabis grown by a master gardener in a smaller plot.
"Let the market sort it out," DeAngelo told the Chronicle.
In 1996, California voters decided that marijuana can be classified as medicine.
Read more: Oakland approves measures allowing large marijuana farms, small growers upset
