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.
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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
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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,
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council felt “the unique char-
acteristics of medical mari-
juana dispensary operations
and their potential impacts
necessitate the establishment
of particular reasonable time,
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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.
Kevin Brock, Blue Moun-
tain Ranger District assistant
fire management officer,
noted the benefit to the com-
munity and the fire service.
“As wildland firefight-
ers, we value the local
city and rural firefighters
as structural experts,” he
said. “We are very thankful
for the long-standing and
close-working relationship
between our agencies.”
1601
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Heppner and Condon, Oregon
Your Rural Fa mily Health Clinic
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ZHOFRPHWKHRSSRUWXQLW\WRYLVLWZLWK\RXDERXWRXUVHUYLFHV
541-676-9158
We Gladly Accept Visa or MasterCard
Services Provided:
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• Primary Care
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Exams
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Children Exams
• Immunizations
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Management
Grant County Health Department does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin,
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afternoon. Barbering services, Ladies,
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