[yortbogey]

Valley farmers will wait and see on pot production

With a hot dry summer climate, Central Washington could be prime marijuana growing territory.
In fact, it already is. Some of the largest pot seizures in state history have been made in Yakima County. But whether legitimate farmers can or will take advantage of the new state law legalizing the plant remains to be seen.
To date, there’s no plan for who will grow the plants, or where or how they will be cultivated.
The measure legalizing small amounts of pot, Initiative 502, leaves it to the state Liquor Control Board to set rules for the production and sale of marijuana. But officials say it could take up to a year for those rules to go into effect.
Last Wednesday the board opened a public comment period on rule making for marijuana producer licenses that will last until February, Liquor Control Board spokesman Mikhail Carpenter said. Carpenter said the board expects those rules to be in place by May, but it’s not a guarantee.

“We’re seeking public comment and meeting with experts and people with knowledge of the field,” Carpenter said.
But even if state rules allow farmers to join in the business, it might not be enough to convince them to start growing marijuana, Yakima County Farm Bureau president Steve George said.
That’s because marijuana is still illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act, George said, and state officials are waiting for any challenges the federal government may pose to the provisions of I-502.
“Until everything shakes out about the legality of it, I don’t think farmers are going to look at it too hard,” George said.
The legal questions will play a greater role in a grower’s decision than concerns about marijuana as a potential vice, he said.
For example, some people view alcohol as immoral, but that hasn’t stopped Yakima Valley farmers from growing grapes for the state’s wine industry and producing a majority of the nation’s hops.
“If it’s legal all the way around I’m sure there would be those who would explore producing it,” George said.
One thing is clear: pot is already being grown in substantial quantities in the region. Nearly every year, state, local and tribal task forces discover illegal marijuana grows in Yakima, Kittitas and Klickitat counties.
Last August, for example, authorities seized 13,500 plants growing in Manastash Canyon in Kittitas County. Sometimes the plants are hidden in vineyards or corn crops. Others times it is grown in remote locations, such as the closed section of the Yakama reservation.
In 2008, which may have been the high water mark for seizures on the reservation, the State Patrol reported that Yakama Tribal Police and a collaborative drug task force recovered more than 204,000 marijuana plants at more than two dozen grow sites.
With a street value of $1,000 per plant, those seizures would have equaled more than $200 million.
Despite all the uncertainty, one person has suggested the possibility of marijuana tourism similar to what the hop and wine industries generate. A West Valley resident registered the domain name WineAndWeed.org with the hope of tourism in mind.
Mark Shewmaker, 52, said he has no ties to agriculture or tourism, but makes a hobby of creating websites and hopes his newest one helps generate interest.
“We’re on the ground floor of something new and exciting,” Shewmaker said. “I thought other people might also want to be informed.”

[OLDproLg]

Dang BIG op's!!

To bad they got found...
Money talks,its comming!

[Yes4Prop215]

any news on regulations? im very interested to see how they will divide up the grow permits....wondering if most go to corporate bidders with 500 acre plots, or will they allow your average joe farmer with 10 acres to grow as well

[SmilingAssassin]

Wut? You can't even grow?

[vapedg13]

eastern washington is not the place for outdoor weed crops.... usually to wet outside and the season is too short

[yortbogey]

^^^...WRONG
western Washington...yes, maybe... rainforest and gloomy
but, EASTERN WASHINGTON
is the apple capital of the world....the palm springs of the NW
largest outdoor fruit production in USA
miles, and miles, of crops, winery's and such
a few hundred acres of pot would be easy....
as for rain and season....
my valley only gets ,8inches of rain per year....WE have extensive irrigation in place
and rely heavily on the melting snow-pack....
and stays plenty warm here until mid October....

seems PERFECT to me...
U must be misinformed...or just wrong

[trichrider]

Originally Posted by vapedg13

eastern washington is not the place for outdoor weed crops.... usually to wet outside and the season is too short

eastern washington has a mean rain shadow...and some desert-like conditions...
not at all like western washington.

[2uptown]

oh yes eastern Washington is a great place to grow weed. its really warm, has little rain and plenty of ddt in the ground. yes the apple industries did a great job of polluting eastern Washington. the yakima river is allways good for a few three eyed fish. eastern washington the future of marijuana...........lol

[xmobotx]

that sounds a lot more like central washington?

[huligun]

I have visited the areas in discussion and agree that the crop would do well there. Even Sativa possibly.

However, there are a lot or illegal aliens there with roots in agriculture. There is also a significant cartel presence. Yakima is a heroin and cocaine hub.

I am not sure if it matters really, but for some reason that makes me feel some interest. I wonder what kinds of names we will see breaking into this market. In other words, some things never change. Those currently growing it illegally in those large numbers cited above are probably or most likely with the cartel.

Washington does have some wonderful fruit and other produce. Last visit to Wenatchee I bought some myself. Didn't ask about drugs.

People that are interested in these things, look at the county jail rooster of those three counties. Look at the names and the types of charges they have.

A lot of people call it Eastern Washington once you crest the cascade mountain range. They do the same thing in Oregon.