Known as the Humboldt Cannabis Reform Initiative, the proposal would make sweeping changes to county cannabis regulations, including limiting the number of new permits, requiring more inspections and increasing protections for the environment.
Proponents of the measure say it’s designed to help protect the environment from over-cultivation of cannabis. After receiving enough signatures, the measure was approved by Humboldt County Supervisors for the March 4, 2024 election.
Sponsor Betty Watson said the county supervisors are too focused on increasing cannabis cultivation.
“And we looked around and saw as our only option was to be an initiative, to go to the voters," Watson said. "Because the board of supervisors had dollar signs in their eyes as did the state of California.”
Watson said they focused on the need to protect the environment. She said in the long run it’ll help small growers.
The lawsuit argues that voters were deceived when signing the petition, and that the measure would actually hurt cannabis farmers.
Ross Gordon is the policy director for the Humboldt Cannabis Growers Alliance, which is a plaintiff on the lawsuit. He argued the initiative is a de-facto ban on cannabis cultivation.
"Really what this initiative does is it makes it much, much harder for small farmers in Humboldt to compete against these very large corporate farms elsewhere in the state," Gordon said.
Gordon said they're hoping for a decision in court by the end of the year, before the measure reaches voters.
