THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015
Willapa Hemp
Festival on hold
until next year
Timeline too
tight for event
planned for
September
By KATIE WILSON
EO Media Group
RAYMOND, Wash. —
Now that marijuana is legal
in four states and the Dis-
trict of Columbia and is on
the verge of becoming legal
in more, “hemp fests” are
popping up everywhere —
and one could eventually
be coming to 3aci¿c Coun-
ty.
HJ Norris of Mr. Doo-
bees, a recreational mari-
juana dispensary in Ray-
mond, Wash., planned to
hold the ¿rst-ever Willapa
Hemp Festival this Sep-
tember, a three-day outdoor
celebration. But now, citing
hurdles in getting a required
permit from 3aci¿c County
and worried that organizers
wouldn’t have enough time
to advertise the festival,
Norris says the event is on
hold until next year.
Still, he believes it as
an important event for the
community — a way to
bring the public and the
cannabis industry together
in what he envisions will
be an entertaining but also
educational event.
“I think there’s not
enough positive informa-
tion out there for any of the
communities,” he said. “...
We wanted it to enlighten
the people that come.”
Cannabis-centric
businesses blossom
In general, the many
cannabis-centric business-
es that have blossomed in
north 3aci¿c County since
Washington Initiative 502
was approved in the No-
vember 2012 ballot have
been welcomed by the
community — and most
importantly by city govern-
ment and local law enforce-
ment. However, Norris and
others believe there is still
a lot of work to be done to
help residents understand
and accept the industry.
“We can’t really get out
like we’d like to get out,”
he said of those in the in-
dustry, most of whom are
still in the “startup” phases
of their business plans.
Norris says a local hemp
fest could dispel any linger-
ing mysteries around the
many ways recreational pot
is now available to those
of legal age. The event,
which he hopes to hold
next spring, would feature
several bands, a variety of
vendors and around 30 rep-
resentatives from the can-
nabis industry. No smoking
or ingesting of marijuana
or marijuana-infused prod-
ucts would be allowed, but
businesses would be able
to showcase their prod-
ucts, distribute brochures,
answer questions and give
mock demonstrations.
The money raised by
selling admission tickets
would go back to cover
the costs of putting the
event on. Norris said he
hopes to feed any leftover
money into the commu-
nity, through donations to
the Port of Willapa Harbor
or toward needed police
equipment.
Expected 2,500 to
5,000 people
According to an assem-
bly application Norris sub-
mitted to the Paci¿c County
Department of Community
Development in July, event
organizers expected 2,500
to 5,000 people to attend
the three-day festival at the
port’s Willapa Harbor Air-
port in Raymond.
The Board of Paci¿c
County
Commissioners
planned to hold a public
hearing on the assembly
permit Tuesday, just over
a month before the days
when Norris hoped to hold
the festival. It might have
taken another week, or
even several weeks, after
the public hearing before
the commissioners hand-
ed down a decision on the
permit. The port, while
supportive of the festival,
asked Norris that he and
others not advertise it until
they had a permit from the
county in-hand.
It was just too much un-
certainty and not enough
time, Norris concluded.
But, he said, they are now
in a good place for next
year. Other than the permit,
everything else is in place
and it should be easy to
pull together in the spring,
weather depending.
“We have everything all
set up. We have the budget
and we have all the vendors
set up,” he said.
He thinks the festival
will bring a lot of people
from outside of the area to
Raymond, and give them a
reason to come back.
“It’s going to be bene¿-
cial for the whole area,” he
said.
Boater education class
to be held Saturday
The Daily Astorian
U.S. Coast Guard Auxilia-
ry Flotilla 62 and the Oregon
State Marine Board will teach
a boater education class this
weekend, mandatory for a
boater to receive an education
card.
The class will be held
from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Satur-
day in the second Àoor con-
ference room at Englund
Marine & Industrial Supply
in Astoria. Class registration
starts at 7:30 a.m. The cost
for the class, which includes
the class manual, will be $10.
The course covers practi-
cal boating safety informa-
tion and local boating rules
and regulations, as well as
tips and techniques for mak-
ing boating more enjoyable.
In addition, a section on
cold-water survival will be
shared.
Students who pass the
course can apply for their
boater education card that
is required by Oregon’s and
Washington’s
mandatory
boater education programs.
All Oregon boaters 12 and
older must carry their boater
education card when operat-
ing power boats greater than
10 horsepower.
Children 12 to 15 must
have a card to operate a boat
under 10 horsepower and
must also be supervised by a
card-holding adult (16 years
of age; 18 years of age for
personal watercraft opera-
tors) when operating power
boats greater than 10 horse-
power. Boaters can be cited
a hefty ¿ne for not having a
card.
The Boater Education
Card will also save money on
boat insurance.
The National Association
of State Boating Law Admin-
istrators approves the course,
which will be taught by quali-
¿ed instructors in a classroom
environment.
To pre-register for this
mandatory boater education
course or obtain further infor-
mation, contact Dave Phillips
at 503-440-9130.
W A NTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500
NORTH COAST
3A
Warrenton to request state
funding for levee inspection
Grant or loan
would help city’s
levee system get
certi¿ed
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — The city
of Warrenton could receive
up to $50,000 in grant money
from the Oregon Infrastructure
Finance Authority to help get
levees inspected, and a zero-in-
terest or low-interest loan of up
to approximately $1 million to
¿nance an inspection.
The inspection would be a
critical ¿rst step toward prov-
ing the city’s levee system can
withstand the 100-year-Àood
risk posed by Warrenton’s prox-
imity to the Columbia River.
And it could ¿nally get the Fed-
eral Emergency Management
Agency to acknowledge that
the city’s roughly 80-year-old,
14-foot-high levees can do what
they have always done: protect
property owners and residents.
This new funding oppor-
tunity springs from a state law
backed by state Sen. Betsy John-
son, D-Scappoose, designed to
help coastal communities, like
Warrenton, get their levees of-
City Manager Kurt Fritsch
Mayor Mark Kujala
‘I think we’ve made
a strong case.’
— Mike Kujala
mayor
¿cially certi¿ed and, in turn,
accredited by FEMA. The state
Legislature set aside $7 million
for levee projects essential to the
use and development of farm,
industrial or commercial land.
Once Warrenton’s levees are
accredited — once they meet
FEMA’s standards for Àood pro-
tection — the land behind the
levees is no longer considered
in the Àood plain. This means
that homeowners and business
owners in the area may no lon-
ger have to pay FEMA’s soaring
Àood insurance rates.
“I think we’ve made a strong
case,” Mayor Mark Kujala said.
“We’ve been on the forefront of
this issue.”
µ+XJHEHQH¿W¶
Certifying the city’s levee
system is a pricey proposition.
It could cost at least $1 mil-
lion just to hire a geotech con-
sultant to inspect the levees, City
Manager Kurt Fritsch said. The
city may have to kick in some
of its own money depending on
how much state assistance the
city receives.
Although a loan in the neigh-
borhood of $1 million is not a
large handout, “it would certain-
ly allow us to spread those costs
out a number of years to be able
to move forward with that (in-
spection) project,” he said.
The language outlining the
rules for the levee funding pro-
gram has been ¿nalized but not
yet ¿led with the secretary of
state, said Melanie Olson, the
Infrastructure Finance Author-
ity’s regional coordinator, who
will be the city’s primary con-
tact.
Once the rules are in place
and the state invites Warrenton
to apply, “we’ll ¿le (the propos-
al) as quickly as we can,” Fritsch
said, adding that other commu-
nities are competing for a slice
of the $7 million allocation.
“It’s important for us to try
to make a big pitch here and get
some sort of funding,” Kujala
said, adding that the city doesn’t
have many funds to draw from
for an inspection. “If we can get
a portion of (the levee inspec-
tion) paid, that would be a huge
bene¿t for us and to the taxpay-
ers of Warrenton.”
Grower: Pot prices have declined in recent years
Continued from Page 1A
are required to get state and city
licenses in the coming months.
The growing process
Saucedo’s workshop has
three rooms for Àowering. The
cultivation process starts with
cloning. The growers take a cut
from an established plant they
have identi¿ed and acquired
from a quality source.
It takes about 14 days for
the cuts to root, and then they
can be transported to a 5-inch
pot. In about a week, the plants
move to a 1- or 2-gallon pot,
and then a 25-gallon pot.
Saucedo uses a coco coir ¿ber
for his potting mix.
Once the plants have moved
to the large pots, they are given
two or three weeks to vegetate.
Growers have to fabricate an
arti¿cial light cycle that mimics
and expedites the natural cycle
cannabis plants are exposed to
outdoors. Once the plants are
ready to Àower, they are ex-
posed to light only 12 hours a
day instead of 24, which will
trigger that effect.
Saucedo tries to keep the
ratio at one plant per light so
“we can stay within the legal
limit and grow optimal-sized
plants.” Growers are restricted
to six plants per patient.
“We try to get the plants as
big as possible,” he said. “One
pound a light is our goal.”
Any extra is just a bonus,
he added. That means each
month, they harvest about 4 to
6 pounds per room.
The whole process — from
cloning to having the product
ready for use — takes about
three to four months. In addi-
tion to the light, growers also
control humidity levels and
temperature, which should be
45 to 50 percent and between
70 and 80 degrees, respective-
ly.
When it comes to choosing
nutrients for the plants, some
growers opt for synthetic ma-
terials and others for organ-
ic products. Saucedo and his
partners start with a synthetic
feeding method known as Lu-
cas Formula and incorporate
proteins by adding in different
organic materials.
Who gets the product
Saucedo is licensed to grow
medical marijuana for him-
self and three patients, and his
partners are, as well. Growers
may legally produce marijuana
for no more than four patients
concurrently, as per state law.
Growers may possess up to
six mature plants and up to 24
ounces of usable marijuana for
each patient for whom marijua-
na is being produced and up to
18 marijuana seedlings or starts
for each patient.
Saucedo carries his own pa-
tient card, as well as grow cards
for each of his patients. Any ex-
cess he has after providing the
product to his patients at little
or no cost, he is able to sell to
dispensaries. Selling to dispen-
saries is often what subsidizes a
grower’s operation.
If a grower is selling to a
dispensary, a product sample
of 2 grams must ¿rst be tested
at a specialty lab, which can
take one day or more, depend-
ing on how much the grower is
willing to pay for expediency.
The labs, which are designated
solely for testing marijuana, do
a potency analysis and check
for mold and mildew.
Where growers will see
more oversight in the coming
months from the state and local
levels is regarding their facili-
ties. The city of Seaside is con-
sidering legislation that would
require growers to obtain a
business license and a license
to have a grow operation. If the
ordinance passes, grow sites
would be subject to inspections
from the city’s building of¿cial
and ¿re department.
The ordinance would re-
The AHS Class of 1970
will hold it’s
45 reunion
th
Thursday, August 6
through Sunday, August 9.
beginning
strict grow sites to the city’s in-
dustrial zones, which wouldn’t
affect Saucedo’s operation as it
already is located in an indus-
trial zone. However, he said,
“it’s not really leaving the mar-
ket very wide open.”
A couple of months ago,
he asked the city to consider
allowing operations in some
commercial zones, as long as
they met other regulations. The
city has not discussed that op-
tion at a City Council meeting
since starting the process to
pass the proposed marijuana
grow operation ordinance.
An awkward time for
growers
The Oregon Health Author-
ity reported in April there were
439 growers and 370 growsites
in the county. There were 674
registered medical marijua-
na patients in Clatsop County
as of July. The legalization of
recreational marijuana with the
passage of Measure 91 last year
has created a changing legal
environment for growers.
Overall market prices for
marijuana have seen a decline
in recent years, particularly for
black market growers, Saucedo
said. They used to get about
$3,000 to $4,000 per pound
depending on the variety. Now,
the price ranges from about
$1,600 to $2,400 per pound,
which means some growers,
who have been growing for a
decade or so, are experiencing
pro¿t loss.
“Before about a year and a
half ago, legal growers weren’t
allowed to make pro¿t, only
recoup for costs associated for
growing but not charge for time
or labor,” he said.
While the lower prices may
be good for patients and dis-
pensaries, “a small guy may
just get pushed out and the
pro¿t-margins may not be high
enough for up-and-comers,”
when it comes to growers,
Saucedo said.
“The solid craftsmen will
rise to the top,” he said.
Large-scale operations pro-
ducing high-quality product
also should make it, he said.
Consumers have to educate
themselves on what counts to-
ward quality for marijuana and
decide what they are willing to
accept.
“The marketplace will
determine what’s good and
what’s bad — what’s an ac-
ceptable end product,” Sauce-
do said. “It’s just like beer. You
could get a Coors or go to Fort
George Brewery. A lot more
time and love will go into one
and the others are mass-pro-
duced.”
Saucedo is trying to culti-
vate quality varieties of can-
nabis that will thrive in the
product’s new market envi-
ronment. As a landscaper, he
is around plants all day so he
is able to identify and treat
any problems his marijuana
plants might have. Almost any
growing question he has can be
answered by a quick Internet
search.
“There shouldn’t be much
of a learning curve for growers
if they seek out the informa-
tion,” he said.
Saucedo sells his product
in leaf or smokable form, but
there are many other different
niches in the industry, among
them concentrates, oils, medi-
bles, marijuana-infused items
and other products.
“There are many positions
in this industry we haven’t ¿g-
ured out yet,” he said.
Saucedo said he hopes to see
his business grow to the point it
can be his sole occupation and
he can provide employment
for others. “We’d like to, if
the state allows it, have a real
breeding program and come
out with our own varieties,” he
said, adding, “we would like
to put a strain throughout the
world that represents Seaside,
Oregon.”
SHANGHAIED
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Thursdays to Saturdays 7pm (July 9th-Sept. 12th)
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There will be several activities
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The classes between 1968
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F RID AY & SATU RD AY S EPT. 18 & 19 • 7PM
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INFO: CALL
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