Formally called the Humboldt Cannabis Reform Initiative, it’s causing concerns around this corner of the “emerald triangle,” a region known for its abundant marijuana cultivation.
Whether walking around downtown Arcata or in Old Town Eureka, signs for Measure A are everywhere. The ballot measure has drawn attention from College of the Redwoods students to elected officials, the local tribal community to environmental advocates.
“Measure A is a targeted assault on an industry deeply woven into Humboldt County’s history and identity,” said Casandra Taliaferro, co-owner of Skyline Farms, one of the local cannabis farms in Humboldt County.
If passed, the 38-page initiative would amend the county’s general plan and impose new rules on cannabis growers related to water storage, permitting, access roads, and generators. The measure would limit the number of cannabis grows that can be permitted, and existing farms larger than 10,000 square feet–about a quarter acre– would be prohibited from expanding.
The initiative's authors view it as a way to protect communities, water, and wildlife from commercial cannabis cultivation.
“The Measure has two main goals,” said David F. Greene, a professor of fire ecology at Cal Poly Humboldt, who is advocating for the measure. “The first is to cap the total acreage used by the water-intensive cannabis industry. The second is to have this limit enshrined in the county plan, thus constraining the policy decisions of the Board of Supervisors.”
In a letter to the Humboldt County news site Redheaded Blackbelt, Taliaferro said proponents dismissed concerns as mere misunderstandings. However, according to a March 2022 impartial analysis of the measure from the county, opponents to Measure A said it could make compliance so difficult that the legal cannabis market is rendered not viable in Humboldt County.
Supporters of Measure A say that the amendments it would add to the county’s general plan are necessary to prevent an increasingly industrialized cannabis industry from running amok at the expense of the environment and rural residents. The county’s planning department analysis found that Measure A would “have dire consequences to the cannabis industry in Humboldt County.”
The Measure has drawn widespread criticism from people who work in the county’s cannabis industry, which was valued at $5.3 billion in 2022 before the market crash the following year. In early February, dozens of small farmers, wearing green shirts emblazoned with “I heart Humboldt, vote NO on Measure A,” filled a Cal Poly Humboldt debate.
One provision of the measure would require farms to be located on a “category 4” road. According to Humboldt County, a category 4 road is a narrow, two-lane roadway with low- to moderate-speed limits, usually between 25-40 mph. Because many farms are located on private roads that would require expensive upgrades, the measure would make it more difficult and costly to get or renew their permits, according to the planning department analysis.
The provision would also require a groundwater analysis for any grower relying on a well to confirm that their operation will not deplete aquifers, rivers and creeks.
“Every grow is a straw inserted into a slope, sucking out moisture that might instead have gone into the adjacent creek,” said Greene. “No matter the importance of the role of cannabis in the county’s economy, the health of our watersheds must be a bigger concern.”
Commercial cannabis applications that come through Humboldt County’s planning and building department can require a range of permits from state agencies, such as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State of California North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Regional Water Quality Board, and Cal Fire.
If Measure A were to pass, the initiative would add more hoops for growers to jump through who are trying to acquire permits, wanting to expand, and who hope to continue operating their farms.
Measure A has created divisions over the county's cannabis future, as the two sides advocate for wildlife and water and, alternately, the cannabis industry in Humboldt.
“We need to have working forests where resources can be extracted sustainably,” said Greene. “Many of the environmentalists of this county no longer speak for the trees. They speak only for themselves as they further their careers.”
