State and County governments should grab a piece of the marijuana profits for the taxpayers of their states, not by raising taxes on the product, but by using state and county property and equipment to farm it. They”d then offer the finished product to the poor who have medical use for it. The manpower could be used from those parties who are doing time to pay society for their wrong doing, many with advanced skills in the area of cultivating this crop. This should be considered by our own county government right now.
A non-profit retail shop could be run with profits going to fund the many charitable organization who help those in need, such as food banks, elderly care, pre-school day care, equipment for local fire departments, and art, music and shop classes in our schools. Funding for select non-profits efforts is a positive and new possibility to be reviewed, as this is a new form of government regulated commerce, unlike the liquor industry who could and would use their funds and power to keep from implementing such a program.
The use of prison farms is a major resource for funding in many states at this time, and would in some degree offer those paying their debt to society a good feeling in doing something positive with their lives. In doing a project of this type, it seems it would have more benefits than what now is being felt from the system in place. I can”t think of any other Ag crop that would come close to enjoying the profits from its use. Over sales taxation of this will take away from its affordability to those who will benefit from its use. The legal drug industry has had a strangle hold as to costs of their products for years. Only the very rich can afford to use their new products for years before they become affordable to a major number of our citizens when generic brands are offered to that group. This is a sad fact.
I am sure the naysayers will find fault with this idea, but nothing new there. They”re the same group who have little idea just how much the new law in legalizing pot will add to the tax revenues of this county, which sorely needs boosting. They also have championed the wording of this county”s rules for growing, to favor the big money growers from out of the county, instead of more wisely keeping as much money in our own small economy.
In driving around the lake, the number of vineyards we see today is nothing to what it will look like in the future. Those lands that at one time were looked at as being used for cattle or sheep operations only have been brought to a far better use with the growing of grapes. Our towns around the lake have not even begun to be upgraded with this ever growing new source of income and taxation. Pot farming offers a chance for the shrinking small farms to rebound for those folks who enjoy that type of life style. Having a high use of land by the Ag sector sure beats more of a use by the black top pavement sector. It shows a real need for more effort and funds spent in upgrading the water resources to greater than the level in place at this time.
For small communities like we have here in Lake County, there is a real need to elect and employee persons with higher levels of skills then may have been needed in the past. As this nation grows even larger, less time from both the federal level and state level will be given to the local needs of our smaller communities, and they will need to be more self sufficient then ever before. Their tax base needs to addressed so as not to but extreme burdens of their citizens, which would lesson the living standards for all. It will take gifted, creative and intelligent persons to work closely together with all our citizen”s welfare needs taken into consideration. The attraction for those persons needed, as always, will be higher wages, and we all need to face that fact.
Jim Hall, Clearlake Oaks
