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Strange bedfellows behind Sonoma County’s cannabis push

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Sonoma Valley Sun

The North Bay Leadership Council endorsed an extreme cannabis ordinance that invites massive outdoor cultivation in Sonoma County. Friedman’s Home Improvement, Comcast, Redwood Credit Union, Wells Fargo Bank, Kaiser Permanente, St. Joseph Health, and Sutter Health are on its letterhead. 

The proposal eliminates health, safety, and nuisance protections for anyone subjected to noxious terpene pollution—the skunk-like stench from cannabis plants. Petaluma-area residents successfully sued a commercial grower for nuisance when odors invaded their homes. It caused significant breathing problems for an adult with asthma and a young paraplegic who needs a breathing tube.

Why do these companies squander their precious credibility? Should anyone do business with enterprises that think residents don’t deserve to breathe clean air?

The council is dominated by large corporations such as Cannacraft, SPARC, a Big Cannabis law firm, and newspapers controlled by a prominent cannabis lobbyist in Sacramento. Curiously, the council doesn’t promote outdoor cultivation in Marin County, which bans it. Many of its corporate members are based there, and CEO Cynthia Murray is a former Marin supervisor. 

Why not festoon Mount Tam with hideous hoop houses and greenhouses that resemble industrial self-storage units? Shouldn’t Marin residents breathe terpenes too?

Mindless boosterism is not leadership.

— Craig S. Harrison, Santa Rosa

 



One thought on “Strange bedfellows behind Sonoma County’s cannabis push

  1. The President of Sonoma State, Judy Sakaki, and Les Perry from the Perry Johnson law firm are also on the letterhead of the North Bay Leadership Council letter. “Leaders” or “mindless boosters”? dupes of big cannabis?

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