Keeping a garden of medical marijuana will get much more expensive for Anderson patients if the city council follows through with the planning commission's recommendations. Last week, the Anderson Planning Council approved several strict measures to narrowly allow for the cultivation of medical marijuana within the city limits.
According to local hardware suppliers, it will cost at least $1,000 to begin providing for the commission's requirements to cultivate medical marijuana. Not only is it an expense, but patients may not be physically able to build the shed, greenhouse, fence and have to pay more for someone to do it for them.
"Ninety percent of medical marijuana patients are on fixed income," spokesman for Shasta County Collective Members Association James Benno said. "(Some of them) are disabled people."
To satisfy the commission's measures by the cheapest possible means, local vendors last week quoted the following prices: a 120-square-foot green house installed (weighted with gravel, no permanent foundation), $600; 84 feet of solid fencing with a locking gate not installed, $363.91; and a $100 registration fee from City of Anderson.
However, structures at 120-square and greater feet usually require permitting, and structures that require permitting require a concrete foundation, Stokes said, further increasing cost. Other required expenses will include a security alarm, not necessarily monitored, odor filtration, as well as permit fees needed for construction.
"Cost alone doesn't make the regulation unreasonable," Stokes said, adding that the regulation accommodates cultivation, yet protects the health, safety, and welfare of community.
Unless the grower already possesses a detached garage that can house two vehicles as well as the patient's plants, the grower will have to provide for an outbuilding or greenhouse, according to Anderson Planning Director John Stokes. The approved ordinance does not allow for cultivation in a residence or outdoors.
While still trying to determine what the ordinance's cost to growers will be, planning commissioners did not have the information for last week's meeting, according to commissioner Christine Haggard.
Stokes recommended that growers use a green house rather than a closed shed, as the green house would save on electricity and be more cost efficient in the long term.
The city council has tentatively scheduled a public hearing on the ordinance for the cultivation of medical marijuana at their March 16 meeting, 7 p.m., at Anderson City Hall, 1887 Howard St. in Anderson.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 1
KimW writes:
It would seem to me that there are two issues involved here:
The Planning Commission is obviously attempting to circumvent the intent of the Compassionate Use Act by suggesting restrictions which seem to obviously be intended to make compliance with them extremely difficult and costly.
Forgotten, apparently by the Planning Commission, and perhaps the Council, is that City Government is not charged to "rule" its citizens, but to "represent" them. If this is indeed the case, I, for one, will not forget their misapprehension of their duties next election.
If the problem here is that it is believed that the Compassionate Use Act is being abused, then deal with the legislation which permits it. I am made a bit uncomfortable by a City Government which finds no particular problem attempting to circumvent the law by placing unreasonable restrictions on what are essentially legal activities.
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