Eugene weekly., October 05, 2017, Page 10, Image 10

NEWS
B Y K E L LY K E N O Y E R
LARRY WILLIAMS
AND LISA POQUETTE
PHOTO: KELLY KENOYER
CAMPAIGNING IN CRESWELL
Race on pot ballot measure is heating up
M
ore than 80 people stood at the intersection of
Oregon Avenue and the I-5 exit in Creswell on
Monday, Oct. 2, calling on drivers to “Say no to
One Gro.” The protesters were referencing an up-
coming ballot initiative in the small town — one
that has “the friendly city” divided about its future.
If passed, Ballot Initiative 20-280 would allow recre-
ational marijuana dispensaries into Creswell, but those on
both sides make arguments unrelated to pot when they argue
for or against the measure.
The town banned marijuana-related businesses within
city limits in November, but One Gro, a new weed start-up
headed by Eugene attorney Mike Arnold, is pushing for that
ban to be lifted.
“We wrote the bill with the city, like their city attorney
and us wrote the bill,” One Gro CEO Dan Isaacson says.
Isaacson says the bill is designed to allow a maximum of
three or four dispensaries within city limits. One Gro already
owns a coffee shop, NakD Bean, in one of those zones.
Opponents such as Creswellian Lisa Poquette say that
One Gro has already staked out the only commercially vi-
able plot in those limited zones, so it would have a de facto
monopoly in the town.
One Gro has offered to donate $105,000 to the city to
help pay for 24-hour policing, though estimates for the cost
of 24-hour policing differ. “This is a way you can address
those problems without cutting services or raising taxes,”
Isaacson says.
At previous meetings, Isaacson and Arnold have said
they want Creswell to become One Gro’s Cupertino, refer-
encing the town that houses Apple. One Gro, they say, will
be a cannabis empire.
Opponents of the measure say One Gro is trying to
change the nature of the town, and that the company can’t
keep its promises. The business already boasts a pot farm of
its own, and Issacson says they plan to use vertical integra-
tion to become that empire.
“He’s promised that we’re going to have more police
coverage with them coming in, but in fact it would take a
minimum of $160,000 a year to bring in one more deputy
into our county,” Poquette says. “There’s not going to be
police on the streets 24/7 until there are three or four more
deputies.”
Mike Weber of Lane County Mugshots Uncensored, who
handles publicity for the opposition campaign, Keep it Cre-
swell, says that “the people of Creswell are basically able to
vote in or vote out a business.”
“Does Creswell want Mike Arnold and One Gro in
their town?” Weber asks. “The people of Creswell feel like
they’re being bought out.”
Another Creswellian who opposes the measure and stood
on Oregon Avenue to protest it is Larry Williams. “They’ve
IT’S ABOUT TIME
T
JUNERMANNIA LEIANTHA;
LONG-LEAVED FLAPWORT
10
October 5, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com
wo years ago I wrote that it was the worst fire season
ever. Each succeeding year has been worse, with the
current fire season simply devastating. Although a few
rainy days ended the horribly smoky air in the
southern Willamette Valley, the fires in the mountains
will likely smolder through this month. I fear that our usual
reliance on September being a good month for hiking the high
country will fade into the past. More years like this one may
keep the Three Sisters Wilderness closed to back country users
through September.
The fires are being enhanced by the effect of years of
extended drought. Even on Spencer Butte, Eugene’s prime city
park day hike, one can see dead trees just below the summit.
Only the weakest trees in the forest are succumbing but, once
dry, these are conduits for a surface fire spreading rapidly to
come in and said they want this to be a weed empire,” Wil-
liams says. “That would change who we are as a culture as
‘the friendly city,’” he says, referencing the town's posted
slogan.
During the protest, Isaacson came out of NakD Bean and
walked up and down each side of Oregon Avenue, offering
water bottles to the protesters holding “Say no to One Gro”
signs. One protestor jokingly asked if there was THC in the
water, and Issacson replied, “Yes! Just kidding!”
Williams points out screen shots of previous editions
of the One Gro website that claim “One Gro is a Creswell
based cannabis business, founded by Creswellians.” He says
they’re not actually from Creswell, although founder Mike
Arnold owns a farm just outside the city. “There’s only one
person I know of that’s a Creswellian” on their board, he
says.
Williams says he feels that the leadership of One Gro has
disrespected the town and its leadership. Isaacson, on the
other hand, suggested in an interview with EW that the lead-
ership of the town is ineffective, and he suggested that he
and Creswell city mayor Dave Strahm could get into dunk
tanks and that “everyone that didn’t like one of us could
dunk us and the money would go to charity,” Isaacson said.
Williams says, “Mayor Strahm was just voted the small
town mayor of Oregon. We’re learning of problems we
didn’t even know we had with them coming in.”
BY D AV I D WA G N E R
the canopy. The outlook is grim.
The bright side is actually a result of not much sun. We are
ready for the rainy season to set in. Gardens will keep producing
until the first frost, slowly to be sure but steadily. One of the
reasons I plant zinnias is that they keep getting stronger and
brighter right up to that first hard freeze. The nasturtiums are
doing well, perhaps because dry conditions deter aphid
decimation.
On the forest floor logs are swelling with moisture. The
mosses and liverworts that rely on moist conditions love those
big, rotting logs. They will be happy all winter.
David Wagner is a botanist who works in Eugene. He teaches moss classes,
leads nature walks and makes nature calendars. He can be contacted through
his web site: www.fernzenmosses.com.