Many people who voted against 19 feel that they did so to defeat big corporations taking over the valiantly fought for businesses of small mom and pop farmers. I only wish they were right about what the defeat really means. Unfortunately, of course, Oakland’s megagrows forge ahead. Agramed and its cohorts were created to flourish under the medical marijuana model. And they will. These huge industrial warehouses will pump out hundreds of pounds per week further flooding a saturated market where prices keep dropping.
Tuesday, Oakland’s city council, waved the opening flag on a race which could destroy not only small farmers in that city but small farmers here in the Emerald Triangle. They voted to approve the permitting process for four large factory farms. Agramed proposes to produce 1/40th of the pot produced in California. The other three permits will eventually come close to the same numbers. Meaning that Oakland will produce 1/10 of California’s pot in just 4 places—making corporate weed not just a nightmare but a reality.
Could we please get some legislation that will help mom-and-pot survive?