[justalilrowdy]

Mendocino County's economic future may rest with a marijuana-fueled version of Wine Country, complete with tasting rooms, bud boutiques and pot-garden tourism.
"It's the only thing we have that brings money into the county," said Mendocino County Supervisor John Pinches, who believes that marijuana accounts for at least half of the county economy.

Estimates of the value of the county's pot crop range from $1.2 billion to $4.4 billion. In comparison, the county's total taxable retail sales were $1.3 billion in 2007, according to the Center for Economic Development at CSU Chico.

Pinches is one of many in the county who believe now is the time to start planning on how to capitalize on Mendocino's famous crop, should it become legal.

Local marijuana proponents and opponents alike widely believe legalization is inevitable, that regulation of the plant will be crucial to keeping it out of the hands of children and that taxation could boost county coffers and help offset the criminal and societal costs of making pot more widely available.

A measure that has qualified for the statewide ballot in November would make it legal for anyone over 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to grow it for personal use. Commercial operations would require government approval. It also would authorize local governments to regulate and tax pot, which remains a primarily underground economy despite being legal for medicinal use.
A Field Poll conducted in 2009 indicated 56 percent of Californians favor legalization. But marijuana would remain illegal under federal law, so it's unclear how passage of the measure would play out.
Nevertheless, the initiative has sparked speculation and debate over its possible effects. Some pot growers fear legalization will cause a precipitous drop in pot prices, while others see new business opportunities for counties that have a head start on name recognition.

A public forum on the future of marijuana was held in Humboldt County last week, and another is planned in Mendocino County this month. The two counties, along with Trinity County, comprise the world-famous "Emerald Triangle" and rank among the state's top marijuana producers.

The April 24 forum, "The Future of Cannabis in Northern California," will be held at the Saturday Afternoon Club in Ukiah. It's sponsored by marijuana advocates but will include law officials and business representatives.

"It affects our community, and it's time to have the discussion," said Bert Mosier, the chief executive officer of the Ukiah Chamber of Commerce and a scheduled speaker.
Visions for the future include marijuana smoking salons where people who are 21 or older could sample Mendocino County's best weed.

"I definitely think if they legalize it, that would be a market," said Matthew Cohen, who heads a medical marijuana cooperative near Ukiah.
Tours of marijuana cooperative gardens also could attract visitors to the county, he said.

It would be "exactly like wine tasting," said Wendy Roberts, a Mendocino business consultant and candidate for the county Board of Supervisors. Like many in Mendocino County, she worries about societal problems, including children having increased access to marijuana, but also believes legalization is inevitable and necessary for limiting its use to adults.

Advocates say Mendocino County is ideally situated to benefit from marijuana-related tourism because it's known worldwide for the quality and quantity of its product.

Pot now is cultivated throughout the state, but Mendocino County remains among the top five producers of marijuana seized by law authorities. More than 450,000 marijuana plants were seized in Mendocino County during the state's annual pot-eradication effort in 2009, according to law officials. That's just about 10 percent of the 4.4 million marijuana plants seized in the state.

Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman estimates that only about 10 percent to 15 percent of the pot grown in the county is eradicated each year. That estimate is widely used to compute the value of the crop. The top estimate of $4.4 billion is based on a conservative assumption that each plant produces one pound of marijuana valued at $1,000, said Ellen Komp, of North Coast NORML -- National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. In fact, they can produce several times that much, she said.

Currently, an ounce of marijuana sells for $150 to $500 an ounce, said Aaron Smith, California policy director for the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project.

A California Board of Equalization analysis estimates that legalizing and taxing pot in California could yield $1.4 billion in revenue if a $50-per-ounce levy were to be placed on retail sales in addition to sales tax.

Sales taxes alone would yield $392 million, according to the report.

The Board of Equalization analysis takes into consideration that prices will fall if pot is legalized. It estimates a drop of 50 percent, but states that consumption could increase by 40 percent as a result of the price drop.

The decline in prices is expected to take much of the profit out of pot, a concern for some underground operators. They also fear that big tobacco companies will step in and begin growing pot on farmland in the Central Valley, effectively killing North Coast production.

Smith, of the Marijuana Policy Project, believes prices will drop, but not as dramatically as some growers fear. "There's no reason to be concerned that the industry will go away," he said. Local growers who create niche markets, like organic and hand-picked marijuana, should do well, Smith said.

Many proponents of legalization say a drop in pot prices would be good. "It's way too expensive," said Mike Johnson, who runs a Mendocino County medicinal cannabis club. It would be more accessible for people who really need it for medicinal purposes if it was cheaper, he said.

Proponents of legalization say a decline in profit also would deter pot-related crime. Law enforcement officials don't buy the argument.
"You're still going to have a black market," said Mendocino County Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.

Of the estimated 8.6 million pounds of marijuana grown in California in 2006, only 1 million pounds was consumed within the state, according to the Board of Equalization analysis.
That means most of it is being exported to other states, where it would remain illegal unless the federal government decriminalizes marijuana. The exports will remain illegal and untaxed and continue to attract criminals to the state, law officials said.

"There's always going to be crime, greed and violence associated with marijuana, whether it's legal or not. Anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves," said Sheriff Allman.
Mendocino County Supervisor John McCowen, who favors legalization if it's nationwide, said state legalization will not bring the kind of business citizens want.
"The tourists already are coming here. Unfortunately, they're bringing guns with them," he said.

By GLENDA ANDERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

plane tickets booked

[litebuzz]

huge tourism draw....they would smart to capitalize on it!

the government is now worried about pot prices going down?

Proponents of legalization say a decline in profit also would deter pot-related crime. Law enforcement officials don't buy the argument.
"You're still going to have a black market," said Mendocino County Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.

I think anywhere where there's talk about legalizing cannabis the strongest opponents are the police/RCMP. To them this is a huge worry as funding would be cut back because of how much less "organized" crime there would be in cannabis. Sure there's gonna be a black market, there's a black market for everything that has a value but can be obtained cheaper through illegal sources.

Law enforcement's main contention in the matter is that by legalizing cannabis then it will be more easily attainable by youth. When in fact, it was much easier for me to get pot in high school than it was to get alcohol. I got pot off my best friends mom, or this kid that went to school with me who's dad grew some AWESOME Lompico Trainwreck. Alcohol was a bitch to get because you had to provide an ID.

They like to toss around the statistic that people who avoid using MJ until after 21 have far less of a chance of moving into harder drugs. Its a terrible circular argument, chicken or the egg, inherent or causal... I've just never believed that we can blame the item. It's the person who pulls the trigger on the gun, not the gun. It's the person who chooses the extra value meal, not the hamburger.

Law enforcement's stance isn't even very representative of their employees. My brother is a peace officer here in the bay area. We've spoken on the topic many times, he has friends that smoke, and hell... I'm his brother after all. He knows bad from good and he just doesn't see MJ as the evil the agency says that it is. There are cops who have lived lives not unlike the rest of us who have had their voices silenced by the state in order to keep their jobs.

Even if it is legalized it still must be monitored and regulated just like alcohol. They will need to set up stings, underage kids asking adults to buy them some weed cigs, and then the cops rolling in once they agree. There's also the unregulated sale they will have to try and monitor. From the Law Enforcement standpoint it's still a controlled substance like alcohol and they will receive a budget appropriate to secure the industry.

Perhaps it should be ATF&W.

As far as Mendo being the place to visit it's only if they jump on it. A state wide legalization will open the door for places like Monterey Bay, Morro Bay, and San Luis Obispo to a different crowd of vacationers.

[reality checker]

Ha! thats funny! Mendocino county is just implementing a 99 plant limit for collective gardens, currently being sued for measure b patient plant limits, and NOW they mention pot tourism, or is this article about Humboldt county actually sitting down and discussing it, not mendocino county?

[justalilrowdy]

mendocino county

[WeedSavesLives]

Sorry to repeat myself in different threads but...

The legalization bill says basically that until feds reschedule cannabis it will remain illegal.

No way that's happening! The bill is a joke.


Peace

[ChronJohn]

Originally Posted by WeedSavesLives

The legalization bill says basically that until feds reschedule cannabis it will remain illegal.

I remember reading a line like that in Ammiano's AB390 but I never saw anything like that in the initiative that will most likely pass by voter referendum in November. Just what "legalization bill" are you talking about??

I love the numbers games these people run. At the "conservative estimate" North Coast NORML places the value of the crop at $4.4 bbl and that's guessing that each plant will produce a pound valued at $1000 (what are they growing, beasters??)... and then literally in the next sentence MPP is stating that it's between $150-$400 an oz... which comes out to between $2400 and $6400 a pound.. so are we talking retail value or wholesale value? Just pointing that out because it'd be nice to see some consistency in the numbers if we're to be taken seriously. BTW, at what point in the distribution line are those ounces gonna get that $50 per oz tax? Like say I'm a wholesaler, and I wanna sell my 150lb harvest to the distributor or a middleman.. are we really gonna have to add $50 on top of each oz each time the buds change hands and money is exchanged? Can't wait to see the regulations they come up with for the herb.. we better make sure we have some good people on the scene when the time finally comes (paging Jack Herer and Dennis Peron)