Butte County

[ButteCounty Guy]

theJointedone,I think that I have this right. Measure A upheld the county ordinance regarding medical marijuana growing. You can't overturn a vote of the people with . initiative. But, when the BOS changed the ordinance, the new existing ordinance was not upheld by a vote, so the whole thing can be stopped with an initiative, and then voted on again. We won the first time it was voted on in 2013?. To shoot for a June vote or a regular November one is a great question. That could be manipulated by when you started collecting signatures.

 

[theJointedOne]

Well the turnout in June will pale in comparison to the turnout in November as you know, since its prez election year.

But a June change in wind direction would put a lot of farmers worries at ease.

Either way I hope everyone has a safe and smooth 2016. I'm definitely giving measure a pigs a big middle finger this year

 

[plastochron]

did the BOS change initiative to a complete ban?

 

[ApolloAK]

AB 21 was amended yesterday and they took out the provision that prevented local cities and counties from banning personal cultivation. Sneaky bastards did it right at the end, now it's just going to read one more time and passed off to the governor.

 

[tankerton]

Hey all, Inland Cannabis Farmers Association is having an emergency meeting on Wednesday at 6pm at the concow grange concerning the new amendments Butte county added to measure A including a plan to deal with them for the 2016 season. Basically they stripped the due process component out of the ordinance and the county will now be able to abate your gardens ten days after the first citation with no hearing. We encourage everyone to join us as we detail the plan moving forward including an initiative for November 2016 election. We have a long battle towards legitimacy and we need each and everyone of you involved and helping out. I look forward to meeting all of you in the coming months.

 

[theJointedOne]

Anyone know how the city council meeting in Chico went last night? I believe they were going to decide whether to ban delivery services in Chico.

Edit: never mind, looks like they left things as they were

http://www.chicoer.com/general-news...ing-medical-marijuana-deliveries-dispensaries

 

[Stone House]

Hey all, Inland Cannabis Farmers Association is having an emergency meeting on Wednesday at 6pm at the concow grange concerning the new amendments Butte county added to measure A including a plan to deal with them for the 2016 season. Basically they stripped the due process component out of the ordinance and the county will now be able to abate your gardens ten days after the first citation with no hearing. We encourage everyone to join us as we detail the plan moving forward including an initiative for November 2016 election. We have a long battle towards legitimacy and we need each and everyone of you involved and helping out. I look forward to meeting all of you in the coming months.

I was not able to attend meeting, any new info worth sharing?

 

[Yes4Prop215]

MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE BEFORE SIGNING. and pay attention to the details, any little technicality and your signature doesn't count, its a waste of everybody's time.

easiest way to ensure is to register at the same time, or do it online.

ICFA has a long list of locations where they have set up to collect signatures, they are all over chico, oroville etc. if you can't find them, then come to the following meetings to sign up.
Feb 12th @ Chico Farmers Market 8am-noon
Feb17th @ PALERMO GRANGE 6PM
Feb20th @ FEATHER FALLS GRANGE 6PM

if you have any questions drop me a PM and il try to help.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

GET EVERYBODY TO SIGN, grandma, uncle, cousin, neighbor, if they aren't registered sign them up.

Let them know that Butte Countys corrupt government has decided to strip your constitutional right to due process! as well as speed up abatement and property seizure!

REFEREND MEASURE A!

 

[ApolloAK]

You should just re-register when signing the petition. If you have a different address, or your signature looks slightly different, they can discount it and it's a waste of time

 

[tankerton]

The time is now Butte County. Fear not, growing cannabis is not a crime. sign the referendum by 2/23

 

[ButteCounty Guy]

They must have let the Butte County Board of Morons help out at Facebook.




Facebook has recently launched an aggressive campaign to rid its sites of some cannabis-related material, deleting or suspending dozens of accounts operated by marijuana businesses, most of which had operated for years without so much as a warning about offensive material.
“We tried to log into Instagram, and a message said we violated their policy, but they won’t say what that violation is,” said Rick Scarpello, CEO of Incredibles, a Denver-based edible company. “I’ve written them every day, saying I’m not doing anything illegal and please reinstate my account.”
Related: Cash-only marijuana dispensaries flood California tax office with paper
Over the last five years, social media has become essential in the movement to legalize marijuana and as an advertising tool for the industry . Large groups of pot-loving activists on the sites can be mobilized during an election or marketed to by a galaxy of startup companies.
So shutting down accounts can be a significant setback for the companies – not just dispensaries, but also ancillary businesses.
Despite the fact that it doesn’t sell marijuana, Center Mass Media, a cannabis marketing company, said it has had multiple Instagram accounts deleted.
John Ramsay, Center Mass’s CEO, said there was a direct correlation between profits and the number of followers his company has, and starting over on social media has caused a significant dip. Deleting such accounts “has a monumental impact on businesses, after you spent so much time building up a network of followers”.
Additionally, social media has become the primary resource for marijuana consumers looking for information on changes in laws, product recalls, forthcoming elections and new medical studies. “The type of posts with the highest engagement on Facebook for us has been news and information,” says Joe Hodas, chief marketing officer of Dixie Brands. “It’s not the products or partying – it’s the news that does the best for us.”
Olivia Mannix, cofounder of the Cannabrand marketing agency, said that two years ago she found a way to run banner ads for marijuana businesses on Facebook by avoiding words like “weed” and “pot” along with any pictures of the product, before Facebook cut off her ability to run any ads. Now, she said, in addition to shutting down cannabis related pages, “they’ve begun deleting the profiles of the people running the pages”. She added that one client received a note from Facebook suggesting that person see a drug counselor.
A spokesperson for Facebook declined to comment on the record about any of these cases or the specifics of their policies toward legal marijuana businesses, only offering: “These pages have been removed for violating our community standards, which outline what is and is not allowed on Facebook.”
The only mention of marijuana on Facebook’s community standards page comes under the “Regulated Goods” section, which states: “We prohibit any attempts by unauthorized dealers to purchase, sell, or trade prescription drugs, marijuana, or firearms.”
The owners of accounts that were deleted say they never engaged in selling marijuana online, and while marijuana remains federally illegal, their companies physically exist within states that have legalized marijuana in some form.
It’s also unclear why ancillary companies have lost their accounts. Stash Tagz, an apparel company that sells cannabis-themed t-shirts, said its Instagram account was deleted after it posted a meme featuring a Rastafarian Santa Claus, which did not contain any marijuana use or products.
Instagram’s guidelines are somewhat more direct than Facebook’s: “Offering sexual services, buying or selling illegal or prescription drugs (even if it’s legal in your region), as well as promoting recreational drug use is also not allowed.” Instagram did not respond to requests for comment.
Considering that both sites are loaded with marijuana posts, the sites clearly can’t remove all of them or delete all the accounts associated with pot. A search for the hashtag #weed on Instagram returns a large number of pictures featuring cannabis products, plants, and smoldering joints, though the bottom of the page reads: “Recent posts from #weed are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram’s community guidelines.”
Several theories about why accounts are being shut down are being discussed in the industry. Some say Facebook is afraid of racketeering charges from the federal government (the same reason most banks won’t touch pot money ), while others believe it is people within the industry flagging their competition’s posts and getting them shut down.
The crackdown on marijuana businesses on Facebook and Instagram could benefit marijuana-centric social media sites like Social High or MassRoots, where naysayers aren’t likely to complain about cannabis content.
“I had been advocating [for marijuana legalization] on Facebook, and noticed that friends weren’t interacting with me on the topic,” said Scott Bettano, CEO of Social High, which launched last year. “They were afraid of co-workers and family seeing them talking about it on Facebook. And that’s when I said the cannabis community needs their own social media platform where they can talk about it openly.”
Though these companies don’t exist in a social media vacuum. MassRoots, which launched in 2013 and has amassed over 775,000 users, uses Facebook and Instagram to promote its site’s content. After it collected more than 390,000 followers on Instagram within two years, Instagram pulled the MassRoots account three weeks ago. (This reporter wrote a news article for the MassRoots blog in January.)
Related: Rolling Papers review – marijuana documentary delivers moderate buzz
There is concern that an industry-wide exodus from Facebook to sites like MassRoots and Social High would be crippling not just to the economics of legal weed, but also the culture.
“Social media provides the opportunity for a dialogue about cannabis, showing people that it’s normal. A lot of people still aren’t comfortable walking into a dispensary, but with social media you can create an image of a company that people can relate to and feel comfortable with their product,” said Lauren Gibbs, president of Rise Above Social Strategies, which helps marijuana companies cultivate an online presence.
Isaac Dietrich of MassRoots believes that there are policies that mainstream social media sites could implement to stay on the right side of the law when it comes to legalized marijuana.
“Alcohol companies have Instagram accounts that Instagram restricts to users that are 21 and older, and we would be more than open to those types of controls. But they don’t give us those options.” He added that MassRoots is currently only available in states that have legalized marijuana, a policy he says Instagram could implement “overnight”.
It’s possible that the wave of deleted accounts derived from a policy change regarding the companies, as many of them occurred within a matter of weeks of each other. Denver Relief Dispensary says its Facebook account was deleted two weeks ago after seven years of no incidents; the deletion was followed by the removal of its Instagram account days later.
And three weeks ago, three separate dispensaries in New Jersey lost their Facebook accounts on the same day. “We tried to take down anything we thought they objected to, like pictures or prices [of products], but we didn’t get reinstated,” said Andrew Zaleski of Breakwater Treatment and Wellness in New Jersey.
“These small businesses invest tens of thousands of dollars in building an organic following,” Dietrich said, “and that in turn drives a significant amount of business to these dispensaries. And then, all of the sudden, all of that money and time flies right out the window. It’s killing jobs and the growth of the industry, and it may well be holding back the progression of cannabis legalization in the United States. All we’re asking for is clear guidelines.”
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media 2016

 

[Yes4Prop215]

INLAND CANNABIS FARMERS FOR THE WIN!!

NOW IS THE TIME TO KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!

big things in the works for butte county, BIG ELECTIONS COMING UP.

first we have several BOS members up for re-election soon, some of our staunchest enemies and measure A supporters. ultimately alot of the anti grow ordinances come from the board of supervisors, having these assholes out would be huge. other BOS across sierra counties are pro MJ and have voted down ordinances, we can achieve this as well.

also, there is a huge voting block out there in butte county of PRO MJ people! i saw them firsthand, mostly in chico. these people need to be awakened and vote for us! we can make our prescense known pretty easily around campus and town, and even in the conservative areas like oroville and paradise. there were alot of supporters of our referendum. and almost ALL of the antis sounded like complete idiots when they yelled and shouted anti marijuana bullshit.

and if you are a butte farmer still on the fence about ICFA, well now their actions show they are a force to be reckoned with, so get your ass off the fence and support these good people with contributions and joining the membership. INLAND CANNABIS FARMERS ASSOCIATION are the ones who fought this referendum people, and are generals fighting the war against measure A…so god dammit join them and fight!!!!

 

[ButteCounty Guy]

On the news tonight: Inland Cannabis Growers submitted 13000 signatures, and are confident they have the required 6500(?).

 

[theJointedOne]

As long as the ICFA fights for all of our rights, whether someone is a member with them or not...then they have my support

Just can't have anything like the emerald growers association, they are on a bullshit trip all their own and we don't need shot like that over here

 

[TriSierra]

As long as the ICFA fights for all of our rights, whether someone is a member with them or not...then they have my support

Just can't have anything like the emerald growers association, they are on a bullshit trip all their own and we don't need shot like that over here

Good people at the ICFA - there are no Heziekel's in this group. What they've done in Butte will reverberate throughout the Sierra communities - Yuba BOS has been put on call.

Its time that we rise together and the ICFA is the community that will bring us there. Become a member. Donate. Participate.

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

Casey "Hatchling", the county spin doctor/intern or maybe just a wannabe candy striper says -"2015 was a learning opportunity for the county"? Really? Learning what? That your lackies over-reached, grabbed too much, got too greedy, violated privacy rights way too often...? Or was it ALL of the aforementioned? Way to get up on yer hind legs Butte...Maybe now, your sister county brethren residents - Shasta, Tehama & Sisikou will follow the example of HOW IT CAN BE DONE...cc

BUTTE COUNTY, Calif. -
Revised marijuana ordinances were set to go into effect in Butte County on Thursday, but thousands of petitions against the new rules forced the county to put the ordinances on hold.

The Inland Cannabis Farmer's Association brought in petitions, signed by 14,000 people, which suspended the county supervisor approved amendments to the medical marijuana cultivation restrictions, known as Measure A.

"We'd like to talk before we fight," said Jessica Mackenzie with Inland Cannabis Farmer's Association. "We'd like to collaborate before we (bring) lawsuits and new laws and battle and so we took the first step to say 'let's talk about that.'"

Under the new rules, the county would no longer issue citations instead they would be fining immediately.

They would give violators 72 hours to address the violations and if they are not in compliance the fines would increase and be taken to court.

In addition, it would also label marijuana cultivation in the county as a non-agricultural operation.

"They've amended the enforcement portion and they've amended it in ways that we think conflict with due process and fairness and legality," Mackenzie said.

The county said the amendments approved by the board on January 26 are to create a more efficient process for enforcing Measure A.

Casey Hatcher, public information officer for Butte County, explained while the amendments are on hold, cultivation restrictions are still in effect.

"So 2015 was a great learning opportunity for the county as the code enforcement division of development services enforced the restrictions on cultivation of medical marijuana," Hatcher stated.

The petitions turned in nearly double the number actually needed to make the suspension.

The next step is to have the county clerk-recorder certify the signatures. If approved, then the amendments go back to the board of supervisors to be rescinded or sent to the voters in the June or November elections. If enough signatures cannot be certified the amendments will take effect immediately.

A similar situation happened in 2014 when supervisors passed an ordinance for restrictions on cultivation in medical marijuana.

The county received a referendum petition that was valid and the board chose to send the initiative to voters; that initiative was approved by voters in November of 2014 and became Measure A

 

[Yes4Prop215]

yea casey hatcher and everybody at butte county development services are a bunch of brain dead idiots. just dealing with them on basic stuff before measure A was difficult. if you got any kind of permit violation in 2015 over measure A, i would recommend just ignoring them and not responding to anything. just have your lawyer contact them and ignore ignore ignore…

anybody seen code enforcement out yet? there was a reported sighting off pritchett rd in berry creek of sheriff vehicles and county vehicles but not confirmed to be CE...

 

[CanniDo Cowboy]

Folks need to understand- The majority of county officials in the different Ca counties have little or no first hand knowledge or clue as to how to properly manage the marijuana issue and never really have. This is evident by the - go forward and then retreat, throw it at the wall and hope it sticks methodology most of them use. The ol - Blind leading the blind deal... It starts with the typical county action or reaction and that is and has been for quite some time - ban this - ban that- ban anything that starts with the letter M.

I dont know which is more ridiculous- Counties thinking that the gro-Gestapo, load all the growers in boxcars approach is really working or that for some reason they have come to collectively believe their 2 steps forward- one step backwards, stumbling around in the dark hoping to bump into a wall standard operating procedure is being seen by tax paying citizens as something worthy of attaboys for at least trying to hold back the green tide as if that makes perfect sense. It's like finally getting the Pied Piper to admit - "Yea, I kill it on the flute but did ya know I'm as blind as a mo fo and have no idea where I'm going...?" cc


Butte Co. Board of Supervisors reconsidering medical marijuana ordinances

16 hours 5 minutes ago by David McVicker
Butte County’s Board of Supervisors are rethinking their decision to restrict medical marijuana farms in the county at their next meeting, the board announced Thursday.

Up for reconsideration are Ordinance 4107 and Ordinance 4106. Both ordinances were originally adopted on Jan. 26 supervisor’s meetings.

Since the adoption of ordinances 4106 and 4107, Butte County Clerk of the Board received several thousands of petitions in favor of suspending both ordinances. The petitions were received the day before they were scheduled to go into effect.

Elections officials determined both petitions were valid had the proper number of signature to suspend implementing the ordinances.

Supervisors said they will uptake one of three options for ordinances 4106 and 4107 at their March 8 meeting. Supervisors will decide to repeal the ordinances; put the ordinances up for election from the members of Butte County during a regularly held election in November or hold a special election specifically for the ordinances.

Supervisors reported that if they decide to not entirely repeal either of the ordinances and submit the ordinances for a vote, they will remain suspended until the election.

If a majority of the voters approve an ordinance, it will go into effect 10 days after the vote is declared by the board. If the voters reject an ordinance, it will not take effect.

The Butte County Board of Supervisor meet March 8.

 

[ButteCounty Guy]

I'm really glad that I watched the Republican debate last night. I have watched the Butte County Board of Supervisors for years. The are certainly all conservative or Republicans. At times I've tried to figure out whether they really were bumbling idiots, or if I was missing something. Now I understand. They are concentrating on trying to get a good look at everyone's hands, and are too busy to pay attention to what is happening around them.