Butte County

Measure L Ordinance - Majority Approval Required

ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE L Measure L

End the adversarial politics of cannabis, focus on solutions.

Throughout its history, growing cannabis in California existed in a legal “gray area.” No longer. New state laws take effect this January that will subject medical cannabis to a comprehensive licensing system for commercial cultivation, sale, distribution, and testing. Cannabis will be regulated and taxed, and income from its sale will generate major economic activity.

The Republican-controlled Congress stripped DEA funding for cannabis enforcement, upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Veterans Administration approved cannabis use for PTSD and is conducting its own studies. The National Institute of Health confirms reductions in opiod addition and death in states where medical cannabis is available, Medicare costs are down significantly in those same states.

After nearly 20 years MIA – post Prop 215 – the California legislature and governor stepped up and created a regulatory framework for use by cities and counties, the Medical Cannabis Cultivation and Commerce Act. Measure L brings Butte County into compliance with new state laws without abandoning any local controls.

The whole notion that patients can or should “grow their own” is simply unrealistic. Asking ill or elderly citizens to grow in a box is inappropriate at best. Patients deserve local access to safe, clean, tested and labeled products that meet the recommendations of their doctors. Today, many Butte County patients must commit a criminal act in order to acquire cannabis.

Measure L is the local ordinance that Butte County needs to protect patients, ensure local control, deliver local benefits.

Concerned about crime? Regulate!
Concerned about the environment? Regulate!
Concerned about children or neighborhoods? Regulate!
Prohibition creates crime and fuels a black market.
Regulation Is the solution.

Finally! A Solution that works for Everyone.

Vote Yes On Measure L.

s/Jessica MacKenzie, Inland Farmers Political Alliance 

ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE L

Vote No: Here we go again! Measure L is the latest profiteering scheme concocted by commercial marijuana growers who want to overturn three voterapproved ordinances that protect Butte County residents from their abusive practices.

Here’s why Butte County Law Enforcement, Educators, Farmers, and Community leaders urge you to Vote No on Measure L:

Jeopardizes Public Safety: Measure L removes legal protections that the people of Butte County passed to stop pot grower abuse and protect our neighborhoods from criminal activities associated with commercial marijuana cultivation. It puts the safety of local citizens at greater risk from intimida-tion and violence.

Destroys Our Quality Of Life—Measure L promotes a massive expansion of commercial marijuana that will make Butte County a magnet for gangs, addicts and drug dealers. It creates a harmful drug culture that will forever change the character of our local communities.

Measure L allows marijuana to be grown on 25% of parcel sizes—subjecting neighboring residents to the constant stench of skunk-like odors produced by large outdoor grows.

Increases Neighborhood Crime: Measure L allows commercial marijuana dispensaries to operate every 1,000 feet—a density of 25 pot shops per square mile! Since dispensaries operate on a cash-only basis, they are prime targets for armed robbers.

Damages The Environment: Measure L takes away local controls that protect our environment from the destructive activities of commercial marijuana growers. It will lead to a major depletion of local water supplies, increased chemical runoff into our streams, and increased wildlife deaths due to poisoning.

Measure L is a Loser for the people of Butte County. It was written to benefit marijuana operators--Not to help medical cannabis patients. Regardless of your position on marijuana legalization, please join us in Voting No on Measure L.

www.ProtectButteCounty.com

s/Kory Honea, Sheriff
s/Michael L. Ramsey, District Attorney
s/Linda L. Dahlmeier, Mayor, City of Oroville
s/Reanette Fillmer, Chico City Council Councilmember
s/Clark Becker, President Butte County Farm Bureau 

REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF MEASURE L

Vote No! Measure L is a Loser for the people of Butte County.

Notice how the author says Nothing about what’s actually contained in Measure L? No specifics. No explanation of Measure L’s disastrous impacts on the quality of life for Butte County residents.

Why? Because Measure L is a Giveaway to commercial marijuana growers. It puts their profits above the public good. Here are the Facts about Measure L that the marijuana industry is hiding from you:

No Local Control: Contrary to the author’s false statement, Measure L does in fact eliminate three major local control protections (Measures A, G and H) which were passed by the voters of Butte County.

No Protection: Measure L creates a massive expansion of commercial cultivation and production. Outdoor grows on 25% of parcel sizes without plant limits. Indoor grows of 22,000 square feet (1/2 acre sized warehouse!) No permits required for “personal” grows.

No Safety: Measure L allows “pot shops” to operate every 1,000 feet—a much higher density than permitted for bars. The California Police Chiefs Association has found that dispensaries are associated with significant crime impacts in surrounding neighborhoods.

No Economic Benefit: Counties with the heaviest marijuana industry influence—like Humboldt and Mendocino—are among the poorest and least healthy in California. The high crime and addiction rates produced by commercial marijuana lead to poverty, Not prosperity.

Vote No on Measure L. It is a Profiteering Scheme that would unleash the worst aspects of the drug culture on our local communities.

www.ProtectButteCounty.com

s/Jerry W. Smith, Butte Co Sheriff Ret.
s/Maureen A. Kirk, Butte County Supervisor, District 3
s/Andrew Coolidge, Chico City Council Councilmember
s/Dr. Mark Lundberg, Physician/Doctor
s/David Daley, Vice-President, California Cattlemen’s Association/Professor 

REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE L

Vote Yes!

Opposition Flat Out Wrong
All traditional farmers seek profit, profit does not equal profiteering. A well-regulated legitimate market is proven to diminish, not increase, the negative consequences of a black market. Measure L leaves rigorous environmental oversight with the State Water Board. And Butte County retains the right to determine the number of dispensaries for itself.

Can't Leave Things As They Are
An exploding heroin epidemic, blighted properties, inadequate rural policing are only a few issues that suffered due to the $1.4 million diverted to cannabis enforcement last year. And the arrest of local narcotics officers for absconding with confiscated cannabis and selling it across the country demonstrates just one problem with current enforcement priorities.

America
Founded on the premise that government should defend our life, liberty and property. Individual rights should be curtailed only when they infringe on others. Current Butte County practices have turned this upside-down.

Patients need dispensaries, dispensaries need medicine, medicine needs cultivators. While medical marijuana is legal in California, dispensaries and commercial cultivation are 100% banned in Butte County. Residents with prescriptions from their physicians are unable to fill them. Our current ordinance would leave only cartels and rogue growers to supply what should be a revenuegenerating industry for our County.

Measure L for Liberty. Designed to create jobs, generate revenue, and benefit all Butte County citizens, no matter their position on cannabis.

Without Measure L, Butte County will be the Loser. Vote Yes on L.

www.GoButteCounty.com

s/Jessica MacKenzie, Secretary, Inland Farmer’s Political Alliance