Medical marijuana growers may soon have the same municipal classification as traditional agricultural farms, if voters approve Lake County’s Measure D.
The ballot measure will be on the June ballot in the County and would protect marijuana grows from nuisance complaints, the same protection offered to traditional farmers in the County. Even though the grows would have to happen outside of city limits, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be outside of residential neighborhoods. And according to opponents of the measure, outside growth in a neighborhood could attract theft, lower property values, and create an unpleasant smell.
Currently traditional agricultural operations are protected from so-called nuisance complaints – situations where people complain to police about the smell, dust, or noise associated with established farms. It’s called right-to-farm legislation.
From the Press Democrat:
Traditional farmers are rallying against a novel June ballot measure in Lake County that would extend “right to farm” protections to medical marijuana growers. It would allow for 12 plants to be grown in a backyard of less than half an acre outside of city limits. On land more than seven acres, 84 plants could be grown.
Right-to-farm laws are intended to protect agricultural operations from nuisance complaints that could threaten their viability. This is the first time an attempt is being made to apply the law to marijuana cultivation, farming and pot advocates say.
Read the full article here.