Green Rush Over? Calaveras County Residents Push To Ban All Pot Growing
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SAN ANDREAS (CBS13) – Calaveras County will vote on the future of a business once heralded as the "green rush."
Cheap land and the prospect of legal marijuana created the so-called green rush.
Now the Committee to Ban Commercial Cultivation says the once quiet foothill community has changed since the county began registering legal growers.
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The group has gathered more than 5,000 signatures in what's believed to be the first voter-initiated ordinance to ban all pot growing.
"We've seen entire communities destroyed, the way of life, the environmental damage, generators running 24/7, the stench of pot growing in the summertime," said Bill McManus with the committee.
If passed, it would kill the county's pot-friendly regulations – and even call for shutting down the dispensaries.
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Those in opposition say the move would only force people to grow in secret.
"It's just going to go underground again," said county resident Smiley. "They're going to still want it 'cause it actually works, and it's cheaper and more effective than what the doctor gives them."
The county board of supervisors could decide to ban cannabis cultivation altogether, or they could let the voters decide this spring.
