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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 2015)
A10 News Blue Mountain Eagle FARM Continued from Page A1 The law, which was ap- proved by voters in the No- vember 2014 election and takes effect July 1, allows individuals to possess up to eight ounces of pot and grow up to four plants per house- hold for personal use. As pot prohibition laws begin to recede national- ly, however, the prospect of bigger markets and indus- trial-sized grow operations occasionally comes up in casual, just-wondering type of conversations, some pro- ducers say. What if Oregon’s grass seed growers decided to grow the other kind of grass? What if the state’s nursery operators turned their green- house expertise to marijuana POT Continued from Page A1 The Mt. Vernon City Council also is scheduled to consider a “time, place and manner” medical marijuana ordinance on April 14. The John Day Council is seeking community input on both ordinances at its meet- Wednesday, April 8, 2015 on his surveys of legal and illegal growers, the state’s “internal marijuana demand” in 2014 was about 150,628 pounds. At $150 an ounce, that’s $361 million. Medical marijuana growers grew and exported 391,694 pounds above the Oregon demand, worth an- other $587 million, Crawford said. That makes the farm gate value of Oregon’s pot exports alone greater than the combined value of hazelnuts, Pamplin Media Group pears, wine grapes, Christmas An OSU pot policy expert says conventional trees and blueberries, accord- farmers would swamp the market if they got into ing to Crawford’s estimates. large-scale commercial marijuana production. &UDZIRUG VDLG KLV ¿JXUHV Existing growers, he says, already produce more are based on self-reported than is consumed in Oregon. data from growers he reached through a “chain referral” production? Crawford said cannabis survey technique, in which Crawford said they ± XQRI¿FLDOO\ ± LV 2UHJRQ¶V WKH ¿UVW UHVSRQGHQWV LQYLWH shouldn’t bother, because most valuable crop, with an others in their social net- supply already outstrips de- estimated annual value ap- work to take part, and the mand. proaching $1 billion. Based sample size grows in a snow- ball fashion. Still, the under- ground nature of the industry PDNHV LW GLI¿FXOW WR JHW SUH cise information, Crawford acknowledged. Bruce Pokarney, spokes- man for the Oregon Depart- ment of Agriculture, said the department has no way to assess the state’s cannabis crop value. “But, assuming the OSU numbers are correct, marijuana would likely be at the top of the list of commod- ities in terms of production value,” he said in an email. The department assists other commodity groups with research, marketing and reg- ulations, but is in a holding pattern as the Legislature de- cides how to implement Mea- sure 91, Pokarney said. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. ing, which begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. Copies are available for review at City Hall or on the website at cityofjohnday.com. In a release this week, -RKQ 'D\ RI¿FLDOV VDLG WKH council felt “the unique char- acteristics of medical mari- juana dispensary operations and their potential impacts necessitate the establishment of particular reasonable time, DQGRWKHUVZLWKD¿QDQFLDOLQ terest in the business. The dispensaries would be limited to hours to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and would not be allowed at the site of a grow operation. Minors wouldn’t be allowed on the premises unless they are cardholders and accompanied by a parent or guardian purchasing the marijuana. The ordinance also would require tamper-proof labeling and other safety measures for edible marijuana products. The Mt. Vernon City Council will hold a public Hearing on an Ordinance of the City of Mt. Vernon Establishing Time, Place, and Manner Regulations Concerning Medical Marijuana Dispensaries; and Declaring an Emergency. The hearing will take place at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, April 14th during our regular council meeting at the Mt. Vernon City Hall, 199 W. Main St., Mt. Vernon OR 97865. The Document is available for public review at Mt. Vernon City Hall. place and manner regulations for such operations.” The council also would establish a separate permit- ting process for the dispen- saries. City Manager Peggy Gray said adoption would put the restrictions in place but they would go into effect only if the ban ends. The proposed regulations would outlaw the operation of medical marijuana dis- pensaries within 1,000 feet of schools and other sites used for “youth development FIRE Continued from Page A1 Local residents can ex- pect to see smoke as the activities,” which include non-school activities such as sports, recreation, tutoring and music lessons. The city would also re- quire a business license fee and an application detailing the accounting and inven- tory systems, proposed sig- nage, state medical marijua- na licensing information and more. The proposed regulations also address accounting and record-keeping requirements, and information for back- ground checks on operators exercises take place, but no traffic interruptions are ex- pected. John Day Fire Chief Ron Smith welcomed the chance for hands-on structure fire practice. “With low statistics of structural fires in the area, this opportunity to provide a live atmosphere is critical to the education of new train- ees and inexperienced fire- fighters,” he said. Smith said it also will be a “great refresher” for sea- soned firefighters. It also allows firefighters in Grant County’s city and rural departments to com- plete training required for S TUDENTS OF THE MONTH Grant Union – February Samantha Floyd Grade: 7 Parents: Greg and Joelene Floyd Marissa Smith Grade: 8 Parents: Brent and Kim Smith Cameron Hallgarth Grade 9 Parents: Casey and Heidi Hallgarth Hailey Carter Grade: 10 Parents: Mat and Jennifer Carter Mariah Boyd Grade: 11 Parents: Sheila Owens and Alan Boyd Derrik Rider Grade: 12 Parents: Corry and Vikki Rider state certifications. 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