Policy

MCA Memos for 04-19 BoS Meeting

In advance of the BoS meeting tomorrow, MCA has prepared the following memos and submitted them to the Board of Supervisors. IT IS EXTRA IMPORTANT THAT YOU MAKE COMMENTS TO THE BOS ON THESE ITEMS TOMORROW!

• Public Expression 
  • Re: Local Authorization, Equity Grant Process, MCD Staffing Concerns, Vegetation Modification Letters
• Item 4e – Fallowing and Appeals
  • Update from County Counsel 
• Item 5c – Cannabis Tax
  • Reducing Tax Burden for Licensed Operators

CLICK HERE to read the memos.

If you support our positions, please share that support with the Board of Supervisors. To leave any written public comment, first you must CLICK HERE to register with Granicus. Once you have registered, you will be able to sign in and make comments on all agenda items. Moving forward, we will provide links for each agenda item to comment on, so it’s worth your time to sign up now since this is the system the County will be using moving forward for submissions.

YOU MUST MAKE AN INDIVIDUAL COMMENT FOR EACH AGENDA ITEM YOU WANT TO ADDRESS. CLICK THE ITEM BELOW FOR THE APPROPRIATE PLACE TO SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT.

• Public Expression 
• Item 4e – Fallowing and Appeals
• Item 5c – Cannabis Tax

If you would also like to make a verbal comment (we recommend it!) on any or all of these items, there are two options.

1. If you would like to leave a message for the Board of Supervisors to be played during the April 19 meeting, you can leave a voicemail comment

 – Call 707-234-6333 and leave a voice message, up to 2 minutes in length, to be played during public expression/public comment, as it relates to the agenda.

– Speak clearly, being sure to state your full name, District #, and which agenda item you are calling for. YOU MUST LEAVE ONE MESSAGE PER AGENDA ITEM. MESSAGES MUST BE LEFT BY 7AM ON THE DAY OF THE MEETING TO BE SAFE.

– Anonymous phone messages will not be played back during the meeting!

2. Join the Zoom webinar and Raise your Hand!

– Zoom Webinar ID: 828 8600 1093

Zoom Phone Number (if joining via telephone): 1 669 900 9128

To participate online in Zoom, if you have not already you must first CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD the app.

Then CLICK HERE to learn how to Join a Zoom Webinar.

Meetings are live streamed and available for viewing online on the Mendocino County YouTube page, at https://www.youtube.com/MendocinoCountyVideo or by toll-free, telephonic live stream at 888-544-8306.

The public may also participate digitally in meetings in lieu of personal attendance. Comment may be made via written comment using our online eComment platform or by joining the Zoom Webinar and using the “raise hand” feature when Public Comment is called. For details and complete list of the latest available options by which to engage with agenda items, please visit: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/government/board-of-supervisors/public-engagement

CLICK HERE to learn how to Raise Your Hand.

Please also feel free to email your District Supervisor with your comments!

Make sure to include the items that you’re writing about in your Subject

District 4 – Dan Gjerde gjerde@mendocinocounty.org,
District 3 – John Haschak haschakj@mendocinocounty.org,
District 1 – Glenn McGourty mcgourtyg@mendocinocounty.org,
District 2 – Mo Mulheren mulherenm@mendocinocounty.org,
District 5 – Ted Williams williamst@mendocinocounty.org

All Supervisors: bos@mendocinocounty.org

Thank you for your support! 

MCA Memos for 4-5 BoS Meeting

In advance of tomorrow’s BoS meeting MCA has drafted and submitted memos on the following items:

• Public Expression – Equity Program Concerns
• Item 3f – Letters of Support for SB 1074 and AB 2691
• Item 3m – Chambers Reopening

Click the Link to view the memos: https://bit.ly/MCA_Memos_04-05-2022

If you’d like to make comments on any of these items, we have listed all of the ways we know of to submit Public Comments on our Blog here: https://mendocannabis.com/blog/public-comment-instructions/

MCA Recap of March 2 Special Meeting on Cannabis

The BoS Special Meeting on Cannabis on March 2 covered a lot of ground. It is currently posted on the County YouTube page (CLICK HERE). A brief recap of each item is below, and MCA will discuss in more detail on a Member only Policy Call Thursday March 10. For those of you receiving this email who are not currently Members, you can visit https://mendocannabis.com/join/ to join up Today and make sure you stay in the loop on all things Mendocino Cannabis!

The Mendocino Cannabis Program (MCD) is now the Mendocino Cannabis Department (MCD). We suggest continuing to use the cannabisprogram@mendocinocounty.org email until you hear otherwise.

You can find the agenda item resolutions and documents that were discussed here: https://bit.ly/BoS_3-2_SpecialMeeting

Here are the items and the outcomes:

Item 3a – Contiguous Expansion Affidavit policy

– This item passed as written. The actual recommendation that passed was not presented in written form in the Agenda so I do not have the exact wording, but will follow up when I can get access to it. Roughly, it was to modify the existing County policy to make the second sentence of item 3 of Exhibit A (available at the agenda items link above) – which is the staff screening to determine if an applicant must be referred to CDFW for a full SSHR – to be a SEPARATE requirement so that if an applicant has the same footprint, but they also have veg removal (any) or tree removal (any, even lawful) or grading (any including pursuant to a grading permit), they must go through a full SSHR referral to CDFW and not just address it later in the Appendix G process.

-We had opposed this course of action in our memo.

Item 3b – Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Program – The Board passed the resolution as presented, providing authorization for the Mendocino Cannabis Department Director to change the program in accordance with State law, in consultation with County Counsel, at her discretion.

– The Board requested that any changes be adequately noticed to the Board and the public.

– We had expressed support for expanding the programs, but objected to several identified uses other than Direct Grants to applicants, and so opposed this resolution in our memo (though we absolutely agree that more transparency is needed).

Item 3c – Cannabis Program Name Change- As mentioned above, the Mendocino Cannabis Program (MCP) is now the Mendocino Cannabis Department (MCD). That is all for now.

Item 4a – Fallowing – The Board directed County Counsel to work with the Ad Hoc to develop a tax relief plan that would ideally serve the same purpose as the Fallowing proposal made by Hannah Nelson but without the additional administrative requirements a full program would entail.

– The agreement that tax relief is needed, and that tax relief focused solutions will be the first items evaluated, is a huge step in the right direction.

– We support the direction of this approach (though the devil is always in the details) and will work closely with the Ad Hoc on this item to try and ensure that the most useful program is developed with the least amount of burden for applicants and the County.

– The Notice of Application Stay and Notice of Non Operation for Permit holders still currently contain the poison pill of the loss of local authorization for those seeking to utilize those programs. We believe it is essential that this be revised IN ADDITION to the tax relief measures being discussed.

Item 4b – Appeals – The Board approved the following motion:

direct staff to create an appeal process for cannabis application denials prior to may 3 of 2022, look at options for full cost recovery and look at options regarding the continuing of cultivation while an appeal is being processed and bring back to the Board for direction to finalize process draft an ordinance.

– Any denials in the meantime are completely at the discretion of the Cannabis Program Director. Until an appeals process is in place, an applicant who is denied has the ability to file suit against the County if they believe they have been denied in error.

– We had recommended that no denials be proposed until the Appeals process is fully developed.

Thanks to those who made comments and called in and left messages for the Board leading up to today. Every comment makes an impact, especially in aggregate. At this meeting, the Board mentioned specifically that they are used to hearing from a small group of the same people in verbal comment. As we continue to address these issues moving forward I urge you all to join us in making public comments, leaving voice messages, and speaking up so the Board knows that we all stand strong together with a unified voice. We are making progress, but there’s still a lot more work to do, and more hands (and voices) add strength to our efforts. We are truly stronger together!Much love and respect to you as we continue to navigate these uncharted waters.

MCA Memos for 3-2 Special Cannabis Meeting

Linked below are MCA’s memos for tomorrow’s Special Meeting of the Board of Supervisors about Cannabis, and how you can share your support of our recommendations.

Below you will also find individual links for where you can leave a written comment on each agenda item, and at the bottom of the email the general instructions for leaving a voicemail or making a Public Comment during the meeting tomorrow.  If you don’t have time to watch the whole meeting we definitely recommend leaving a voicemail with your comments, which you can do today!

NEW PROCESS FOR WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENT

To leave any written public comment, first you must CLICK HERE to register with Granicus. Once you have registered, you will be able to sign in and make comments on all agenda items. Moving forward, we will provide links for each agenda item to comment on, so it’s worth your time to sign up now since this is the system the County will be using moving forward for submissions.

YOU MUST MAKE AN INDIVIDUAL COMMENT FOR EACH AGENDA ITEM YOU WANT TO ADDRESS.

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Public Expression – Vegetation Modification Letters

Please CLICK HERE to review the letter and attachments from Hannah Nelson regarding the Vegetation Modification notices that went out recently.  This has also been sent to all local media. 

If you agree that the Vegetation Modification process is particularly onerous and punitive, you can CLICK HERE to support Hannah’s letter by sharing your thoughts with the Board of Supervisors to help them understand the importance of this item. 

____________
Item 3b – Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Program

As written this agenda item does not sufficiently address the need of our community in administering these grant funds, and so we can not support the proposed resolution.

CLICK HERE to read our memo.

If you agree with our memo, CLICK HERE to share your written support.  Make sure to include your personal opinions on the best uses of the grant funds and how important this Program is for our community.

_________
Item 4a – Fallowing

The current Notice of Application Stay and Notice of Non-Operation programs are woefully insufficient for the needs of our community.  Applicants or Permit holders should be able to pause on new production while maintaining life support systems to sell already cultivated product and keep genetics alive, without losing their local authorizations.

We support Hannah Nelson’s proposed revisions to the existing programs, and our memo outlines those considerations.

CLICK HERE to read our memo.

  
If you agree with our memo, CLICK HERE to share your written support.  Make sure to include your personal opinions on the best uses of the grant funds and how important this Program is for our community.

_________
Item 4b – Appeals

MCA Fully supports the Ad Hoc’s recommendation to develop an appeals process for Applicants who may be denied their Permit by MCP.

CLICK HERE to read our memo.

If you agree with this memo, CLICK HERE to share your support.  Make sure to include why you think it’s important for embossed receipt holders who are denied to have an appeal process, especially considering how many errors have been made and continue to be made in the processing of applications.
______

If you would also like to make a verbal comment (we recommend it!) on any or all of these items, there are two options.

1. If you would like to leave a message for the Board of Supervisors to be played during the March 2 meeting, you can leave a voicemail comment

 – Call 707-234-6333 and leave a voice message, up to 2 minutes in length, to be played during public expression/public comment, as it relates to the agenda.

– Speak clearly, being sure to state your full name, District #, and which agenda item you are calling for. YOU MUST LEAVE ONE MESSAGE PER AGENDA ITEM.

– Anonymous phone messages will not be played back during the meeting!

2. you can CLICK HERE to sign up to make a live comment during Public Expression during the meeting. Make sure to enter ‘Vegetation Modification on March 2″ in the Public Expression field of the page. Once you sign up, you will receive a confirmation via email, and instructions on how to access the BoS meeting via Zoom on Wednesday.
Please also make sure to email your District Supervisor with your comments!

Make sure to include the items that you’re writing about in your email Subject

District 4 – Dan Gjerde gjerde@mendocinocounty.org,

District 3 – John Haschak haschakj@mendocinocounty.org,

District 1 – Glenn McGourty mcgourtyg@mendocinocounty.org,

District 2 – Mo Mulheren mulherenm@mendocinocounty.org,

District 5 – Ted Williams williamst@mendocinocounty.org 

Thanks for raising your voice about these important issues!

MCA Memo for Item 4b re Equity on Feb 8

MCA Memos For Feb 1 BoS Meeting

CLICK HERE to see MCA’s memos and attachments that were submitted to the Board of Supervisors for the following items being discussed tomorrow Feb 1, 2022:

• Item 4d – Crop Report
• Item 4e – Phase 3
• Item 4f – MCP Update + Local Jurisdiction Assistance Grant Program
  • 4f Attachment 1 – Op Ed from Hannah Nelson & MCA
  • 4f Attachment 2 – Addendum to Op Ed

We urge you to pay special attention to the Memo for Item 4f which includes our specific proposals for priority items that we look forward to seeing addressed in a Special Meeting of the Board.

We also urge you to send in your own letters regarding your challenges with either MCP or the Equity Program for consideration during Agenda Item 4f.
Please CLICK HERE to see our Urgent Call To Action and let your District Supervisor know about your experience. Now is the time to raise your voice!

Please send all communications to your district supervisor directly as well as to bos@mendocinocounty.org, cobsupport@mendocinocounty.org and info@mendocannabis.com  

Make sure to include Email Subject: Comment for Agenda Item 4f on Feb 1, 2022

District 4 – Dan Gjerde gjerde@mendocinocounty.org,

District 3 – John Haschak haschakj@mendocinocounty.org,

District 1 – Glenn McGourty mcgourtyg@mendocinocounty.org,

District 2 – Mo Mulheren mulherenm@mendocinocounty.org,

District 5 – Ted Williams williamst@mendocinocounty.org 

If you do not want to send an email, but would like to leave a message for the Board of Supervisors instead, you can leave a voicemail comment to be played during Item 4f:

 – Call 707-234-6333 and leave a voice message, up to 2 minutes in length, to be played during public expression/public comment, as it relates to the agenda.

– Speak clearly, being sure to state your full name, District #, and Agenda Item 4f at the beginning of the message

– Anonymous phone messages will not be played back during the meeting

Urgent Call to Action for the Licensed Mendocino Cannabis Community

This Tuesday the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors will be considering Consent Calendar agenda item Item 4f – Discussion and Possible Action Including Acceptance of an Update from the County of Mendocino Cannabis Program.

It is our understanding that some Supervisors are not fully aware of the various challenges being faced by operators in the program, and we believe it is essential that we as a community provide this critical insight for consideration so they can better understand the continued challenges that applicants and permit holders face. This is especially needed since most reporting by Staff concentrates on the program’s achievements and does not accurately present the continued difficulties from the applicant’s perspective. A good example is how the Equity report does not list the fact that ZERO money has actually been distributed to grantees. Another example is that MCP keeps reporting how many “incompletes” applicants had without explaining how many of them were due to staff errors or confusing instructions or portal technology limitations.

The more direct outreach each supervisor receives on these important issues from their constituents, the more they will hopefully understand the need to take immediate corrective measures, such as the ones outlined by Hannah Nelson and MCA in our Op Ed of January 12 and Hannah’s subsequent Local Fallowing Program proposal. She is also submitting a legal memo regarding the stalled processing of Contiguous Expansion Affidavits and the potential requirement that even those applications now go through a full SSHR referral to CDFW. We are so grateful to Hannah for her superhuman pro bono efforts on behalf of the entire Mendocino cannabis community, often at the expense of her personal life. But she can not do all of this alone.

We strongly feel that at this time the most effective way to educate the Supervisors is for individual operators in the program (YOU!) to be very clear about your personal experiences with the program, and the challenges you are facing. 

Specifically, we are recommending that you write directly to your District Supervisor and the full Board, copying MCA, for Agenda Item 4f on Tuesday with your answers to some or all of the following questions (details below), or by using the linked form ( https://bit.ly/MCP_Update_Form ) provided for your convenience. We have separated these questions into three categories. Ultimately the goal is to let the supervisors know about the effectiveness and clarity, or lack thereof, of communications between you and MCP.

We invite you to either send an email addressing some or all of the items suggested below, or to use a form we have created that enables you to say YES or NO to the items that apply to you with space for additional comments.  Whichever method you choose, it’s essential that we as a community make our voices heard on these issues.

1. Portal Questions

• Have you been told in an email or other method of communication what standards must be met for an application to be deemed ‘complete’?
• Have you been told in writing what the standards of proof are if you have to disprove a wrong assumption made by staff that could be the basis of a denial?
  • Do you feel an error or incorrect assumption made by Staff has led to you being deemed incomplete’?
  • ​​Do you know what the policies and procedures of MCP are for the Portal? 
  • Do you know how to locate them?
  • Did you understand the portal questions and instructions?
  • Were you able to upload the documents you needed/wanted to in the portal system based on the questions you were asked??
• Do you feel that you have been provided clear directions on how to address any incomplete items?
  • Are all the forms and instructions clear and without errors by the MCP? 
  • Does the Portal allow you to attach the documents you thought you needed to attach? 
  • Did the instructions cause you confusion as to what items to attach in what location of the portal? 
  • Did you find that if you checked the box you thought was applicable, that you were not able to upload documents that you thought you would be able to upload because there was no place to do it unless you changed your answer?
• Have you been marked incomplete?
• Have you been marked incomplete more than once?
  • Were any of those times due to MCP error or Portal Limitations?
• If you received multiple incompletes were the reviews consistent?
• How effective has MCP been in answering your questions about the Portal?

2. Equity Questions

• Do you feel that MCP & Elevate Impact have clearly informed you of policies, procedures and standards of success versus failure for your application?
• If you are unclear on those policies, procedures and standards of success from MCP & Elevate Impact, how effective are they at providing clarity when you present them with questions?
• Do you find it difficult to get timely responses from MCP & Elevate Impact?
• Do the webinars offered by MCP & Elevate Impact provide you with useful, clear information?
• If you have been required to make revisions to your specific grant application or budget, were you given all the corrections at one time or did they happen in small successive installments? 
• If in successive installments, do you believe that the information could have been presented to you more efficiently?
• Do you feel like the goal posts have changed during your grant application process?

3. General Program questions

• Do you feel that you have a clear understanding of MCP policies, procedures and standards of success versus failure for your permit or application?
• If you are unclear on those policies, procedures or standards for success in the program, how effective is MCP at providing clarity when you present them with questions?
• Do you find it difficult to get timely responses from MCP?
• Do the webinars offered by MCP provide you with useful, and meaningful way to obtain clear information?
• Do you feel like you can participate effectively in MCP webinars?
• Do you know what the policies and procedures of MCP are? 
  • Do you know how to locate them?
  • Are all forms you need on the website? 
  • Are they in the location they should be for the task you must perform?

In addition to these suggested items, we recommend including any challenges or frustrations that you have experienced related to communications with MCP to provide the Board with your personal experience.

If you would like to provide this feedback to the Board, but do not want to be identified for whatever reason, you can send your email, including your District #, to MCA’s Executive Director Michael Katz at michael@mendocannabis.com and he will remove identifying information (except for District #) before forwarding on to the Board.

This is a critical time to speak up about our collective experience and MCA is here to help in any way we can.

Please send all communications to your district supervisor directly as well as to bos@mendocinocounty.org, cobsupport@mendocinocounty.org and info@mendocannabis.com  

Make sure to include Email Subject: Comment for Agenda Item 4f on Feb 1, 2022

District 4 – Dan Gjerde gjerde@mendocinocounty.org,

District 3 – John Haschak haschakj@mendocinocounty.org,

District 1 – Glenn McGourty mcgourtyg@mendocinocounty.org,

District 2 – Mo Mulheren mulherenm@mendocinocounty.org,

District 5 – Ted Williams williamst@mendocinocounty.org

If you do not want to send an email, but would like to leave a message for the Board of Supervisors instead, you can leave a voicemail comment to be played during public comment:

 – Call 707-234-6333 and leave a voice message, up to 2 minutes in length, to be played during public expression/public comment, as it relates to the agenda.

– Speak clearly, being sure to state your full name and Agenda Item 4f at the beginning of the message

– Anonymous phone messages will not be played back during the meeting

Please feel free to reach out to Michael Katz at michael@mendocannabis.com with any questions about this Call to Action.

And be on the lookout for more communications from us in the next few days as we get closer to the Board meeting! The more engagement we can bring as a community the more likely we are to truly being heard.

#wearecaliforniacannabis #weareMCA #strongertogether #joinmca #mendocinocannabisalliance #community #sustainableagriculture #marketaccess #economicdevelopment #personalcultivation #cannatourism #mendogrown #craftcannabis #boutiquecannabis #knowyourfarmer #mendo #medicalcannabis #mendocino #emeraldtriangle #legacyrising #originscouncil #mendocinocounty 

Local License Fallowing Proposal from Hannah Nelson

While we are all working our hardest to create a solid foundation from which to start the coming season, it is possible that some folks would benefit from taking some time out from the licensed market without losing their current status and their investments by leaving the program completely.

Currently, there is a process to Stay an Application and an opportunity to not cultivate for up to one year (out of every five years) built into 10A.17, but these options are overly restrictive and arbitrarily limited in ways that are not optimal for licensees.  The incomparable Hannah Nelson has volunteered her time to provide a redlined version of the existing language in the ordinance and corresponding form.  She provided this proposal to the Cannabis Ad Hoc, and authorized us to share it with the community, for which we are sincerely grateful!

Here is the email that Hannah shared with the Ad Hoc along with the revised documents (linked below):

“On a pro bono basis, I reviewed the current cultivation ordinance and MCP form (there used to be another form for Permit holder Stay, but it was removed from the website and only this APPLICATION Stay form was present). I decided that the best chance that we have for getting this necessary reform done quickly was to conduct the bulk of the proposed ordinance redlining work myself. Attached are two documents: One that contains redline of existing ordinance provisions that would be implicated in both types of fallowing (for applicants and for annual permit holders). That document also has some comments in the edits that were tracked (in the column on the right side of the page) as well as some points relating to the need for specific components of any fallowing program, and an alternative to the simple ordinance strikethrough and additions if it is believed to be a better option (a new type F (for fallowing) permit).

I genuinely hope that the Ad Hoc can immediately bring this to staff, including MCP and County Counsel. As you know, time is of the essence. With the further delays in the Equity Grant Program, CEQA and Permit Application Processing, the increase in the state cultivation tax effective this year, the drought, and other extreme conditions, there is an URGENT need for a fallowing program that is reasonable and considers the current realities of the situation. Every applicant has VOLUNTEERED to be regulated and stepped forward into the abyss. No one thought it would be as torturous of a process (neither the County nor the applicants) as it has been and continues to be. Every one of these tax-paying businesses is tracked and traced at the state level. Accountability of state license holders is no longer the issue, it is now the County. At a minimum, the County needs to provide a reasonable fallowing program immediately. The tax year has begun, and decisions regarding spring planting must be made soon.

Thank you for your attention to this issue and any effort to EXPEDITE it would be greatly appreciated.”

She further indicated that from the beginning of the current Stay of Application process, it was envisioned in part as a tool to prevent denial of an application and to give the applicant a way to correct things, resolve issues instead of being denied.  It appears that the Board of Supervisors may be discussing this item on March 1, and we will let you know as soon as we have confirmation.

CLICK HERE to review the redlined County Documents

If you agree with these recommendations to support our licensed operators during this challenging time, please email bos@mendocinocounty.org to let them know you support Hannah Nelson’s Fallowing proposal.

The messages that have the most impact will include a few sentences about how these issues impact YOU directly.  Feel free to share your story with the Supervisors!

In the meantime, if someone gets denied, they may want to consider the existing Notice of Application Stay but would be required to follow the more restrictive requirements, including not having any cannabis inventory, until the changes proposed by Hannah are adopted.

Potential Extinction of Tax-paying Legal Mendocino Cultivators Must Be Addressed By Mendocino County – Hannah Nelson & MCA Op Ed – 01-12-2022

Recently, Mendocino County cannabis cultivation permit applicants were given a short window to resubmit their application and all supporting materials. The “portal” had been delayed from its intended opening multiple times, but finally opened on August 2^nd and closed on November 2^nd. It was intended to streamline the process and finally straighten out the County’s records for each applicant after many years of program management under different leadership losing files and long delays in processing applications.

Unfortunately, the monumental efforts of the new Mendocino Cannabis Program (MCP) have once again failed to streamline the process and it has once again stalled out. Chronic understaffing and poorly thought through actions have not resulted in positive outcomes. While MCP works tirelessly to rectify problems (some self-inflicted and some due to outside forces), there has been NO clear or consistent communication or guidance to the applicants. Instead, they have been sent notices that their applications are incomplete and that there is no current way to correct the deficiencies or errors—some of which are simply incorrect determinations by staff reviewers—and are told that they may be denied as a result. This is despite the fact that reviews are not conducted pursuant to consistent or clear guidelines, there were insufficient instructions given, the limitations of the portal technology, and other challenges. 

While there is no question that MCP needs and deserves full staffing, legitimate questions remain: 

• Why hasn’t MCP staffed up since being directed and funded by the Board of Supervisors? 
• Why did MCP not establish and publish clear standards, guidelines and educational materials that would give applicants and staff clear and consistent basis for the portal submission requirements? 
• Why have the applicants not been told when they will be able to correct any noticed deficiencies and, more than that, what is the process of clearing up mistakes by staff or any unclear comments by staff regarding items they deemed deficient? 
• Why do different reviewers review the same files and come to different determinations? 
• What will the appeal process be if applicants are wrongly denied? 

We have asked these questions in various ways over the past several months, and have not received any clear answers. 

Will the County answer these questions and address these issues now, in public, or will the answers and solutions only come from and be forced through existing and future litigation?

This is not the same old gripe about the inefficiencies of County government, which is quite common here in Mendocino. The sad fact is that concurrent factors combine with these local problems to create what amounts to an existential crisis for most of these small local tax-paying cannabis businesses. The recent cannabis market crash, exorbitant local and state cultivation taxes, the looming deadline for state Provisional licenses, the shifted CEQA burden, drought, fire and Covid all are contributing to make this an EXTINCTION-LEVEL EVENT. 

On top of this, the County has failed to properly supervise the outside contractor that is responsible for rolling out the Equity Grant funds to the qualified grantees and has not insisted that other County departments that are necessarily involved in that process were coordinated with from the beginning.  As a result, time-limited approved funding from the state is in very real jeopardy of having to be returned, and intended recipients that might have been saved from shuttering may not receive this desperately needed relief in time to save their businesses. 

The County was also granted $17.5 million dollars in a local jurisdiction grant, which will likely also suffer from the same bureaucratic entropy as the Local Equity Program and as a result, may not get to the intended beneficiaries in the form of real services or grants in time to be meaningful in addressing the huge challenges they face TODAY. 

These businesses are going to be lost PERMANENTLY if something is not done. 

Where is the ACCOUNTABILITY of the County? 

It is time to stop blaming the Applicants and instead work in partnership with them and other stakeholders to save this necessary component of our community and local economy.

Every applicant has VOLUNTEERED to be regulated and stepped forward into the abyss. No one thought it would be as torturous of a process (neither the County nor the applicants) as it has been and continues to be. Every one of these tax-paying businesses is tracked and traced at the state level. Accountability of state license holders is no longer the issue, it is now the County.

CLICK HERE for a more thorough and detailed explanation of the issues touched on above. 

Sincerely,

Hannah L. Nelson

e: hannahnelson@hannahnelson.net

Mendocino Cannabis Alliance

e: info@mendocannabis.com

Hannah L. Nelson is a local attorney with extensive experience in cannabis issues, policy, and compliance at the local and state level. 

Mendocino Cannabis Alliance serves and promotes Mendocino County’s world-renowned cannabis cultivators and businesses through sustainable economic development, education and public policy initiatives.

Together they have consistently offered free, pragmatic assistance to the County to help resolve these and a myriad of other issues. Their requests to  provide “fixes” to proposed regulations in the County by vetting them for practical implications prior to implementation have consistently been rejected.