Yuba supes continue hemp prohibition in county

Apr. 26—The Yuba County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Tuesday the continuation of the county's ban on the cultivation of industrial hemp.

According to Yuba County Agricultural Commissioner Stephen Scheer, he has only received one inquiry regarding industrial hemp production in the county over the past two years. Because of this relatively low interest claimed by Scheer and the fact that Scheer believes legal hemp production would do more harm than good, he recommended to the board that Yuba County continue its prohibition.

The moratorium on hemp production in Yuba County previously ended on Aug. 31, 2022.

"There remain to be many concerns for the production of industrial hemp for local jurisdictions, namely public safety, nuisance complaints, the workload it creates for local departments and land use issues that arise due to its production," Scheer said. "... Initially, the counties that are running industrial hemp programs are experiencing widespread violations within their industrial hemp programs and taking enforcement action is complicated. ... Industrial hemp has not shown to be an economically viable crop."

Scheer said the continued prohibition of industrial hemp cultivation "will mitigate public safety, workload, land use issues, and potential for General Fund costs to administer the program."

According to the county's ordinance documentation related to industrial hemp cultivation, the sheriff's department and the county's code enforcement would need to bear the brunt of costs associated with a hemp program.

"In order for the Sheriff's office and Code Enforcement personnel to verify that harvested product in transit is industrial hemp and not cannabis intended for sale in the illicit market, field analyzer kits must be available," the ordinance states.

According to the county, the current cost of specialized field equipment is about $18,000 per unit and the sheriff's department would need at least six kits.

"This would require at least ten (10) kits at a cost to the County of $180,000, if cultivation of industrial hemp were to be permitted in Yuba County," the ordinance states.

The county also claims that because industrial hemp and cannabis are "virtually indistinguishable to the untrained eye," that the cultivation of industrial hemp would pose "similar threats to the public health, safety or welfare as the cultivation of cannabis including light pollution, water pollution, noise, traffic and enforcement issues."

According to the county, the cultivation of industrial hemp would "create an increased likelihood of criminal activity."

Along with public safety issues, the county also believes that mites and other insects and the use or non-use of pesticides can lead to even greater problems with hemp cultivation.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the value of U.S. hemp production in the open totaled $712 million and the value of production for hemp that was grown under protection in the United States totaled $112 million in 2021.

In 2017, the Yuba County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance essentially banning commercial cannabis activities within the unincorporated areas of Yuba County, the Appeal previously reported.

The ordinance prohibited commercial activities, including cultivation, possession, manufacturing, distribution, processing, storing, laboratory testing, packaging, labeling, transportation, delivery or sale of cannabis or cannabis products, as well as any other activities involving cannabis that are not considered for personal use.

Since that time, some residents in the Yuba County foothills said they have been dealing with the effects of prohibition as illegal, black market growers set up farms and abuse the land and water available in the area.

A person who lives in the foothills, who asked to remain anonymous because they lived between what they said were two illegal marijuana farms operated by suspected drug cartel members, previously told the Appeal what some residents and farmers were dealing with in rural areas of Yuba County when it came to legal and illegal grows.

"You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. Not only have people here been growing cannabis for decades, but Yuba County invited cannabis growers to come here and invest in the county by issuing a cultivation ordinance in 2012," the person previously said. "It was by no means perfect, and it needed to be completely overhauled. Instead, the county pulled the rug out from those people, who mostly moved here so that they could grow in compliance with local regulations and eventually be part of the legal industry that was on the horizon, by passing the outdoor cultivation ban in 2015."

Because of these ordinances and a refusal to accept legal grow operations that may have contributed to the Yuba County economy, the person said many legitimate growers fled to other Northern California counties.

"Since then, the people who had ambitions to be part of a legal system moved to friendlier counties, and the people who bought those properties are those who have ambitions of being Scarface," the foothills resident said in reference to the character in the 1983 movie starring Al Pacino. "If the county doesn't reassess this strategy, it will continue to get worse, and as unmanageable as it seems to be now, those of us who want to live in safe, friendly communities will have no option but to leave. Guess who will replace us? There is no feasible option but to allow people to set up legitimate cannabis businesses that contribute to the prosperity and to the fabric of the county.

"There's no amount of enforcement that is going to fix this, it's just a never ending game of whack-a-mole, and the already strapped county will continue to be stretched beyond any hope of controlling the problem. We can't stick our heads in the sand, we have to invite respectful, law abiding citizens to help contribute to the county's ability to right this situation. This can be done through a combination of zoning and other ordinances, and fund strict regulation and enforcement."

The foothills resident previously shared with the Appeal images of the illegal grow operations taking place on the properties surrounding their residence. The Appeal also was able to see a massive pile of garbage that was left on the land as a result of the possible squatters who were living on the property.

Besides increased truck traffic and the occasional machine gun fire displays that were occurring, the resident also was concerned with the amount of water suspected illegal operations were using, an area of worry other residents of the foothills also shared with the Appeal. The resident the Appeal spoke to pointed to an example of a creek that flows through their property.

"In summer it will get low (the creek), but never stop. This year it went dry. Another (person) believes they are cartel and pumping water out of the creek," the resident said. "I called fish and game and they did nothing about it. During spring, summer and fall, you might see every week probably two water trucks a day and they destroy the road."

Yuba County Sheriff Wendell Anderson previously confirmed with the Appeal that there was a cartel and illegal grow presence in the foothills. He said it's an issue the county has dealt with for several years.

"The problem of illegal marijuana growing in Yuba County has been a problem for many years and we get little help from the State to combat the issue," Anderson previously said in an emailed statement to the Appeal. "While it is of little consolation, the problem that we see here is mirrored by most of our counterparts in the North State. The rural setting, limited LE (law enforcement) resources, cheap land prices, weather and good soil all play a role in my opinion."

Anderson said these illegal grow operations have always been a major concern with what he called "Drug Trafficking Organizations" setting up illegal grows in areas such as national forests and privately owned and state lands. He said legislation passed by the state exacerbated the issue.

Anderson said his department eradicated more than 29,000 plants from illegal grows in 2020, many he said were part of "Drug Trafficking Organizations." He said in the past the department has been able to partner with other Northern California sheriff's departments to try and eradicate illegal operations. They include departments in Siskiyou, Trinity and Calaveras counties.

"Cartels and DTOs (Drug Trafficking Organizations) finance other illegal operations in the U.S. with the proceeds from their illegal grows. The DTOs finance their heroin, methamphetamine, human trafficking and prostitution operations with proceeds from illegally grown marijuana," Anderson previously said. "They come to Yuba County and other rural California Counties because local law enforcement is strapped for resources and money and the property can be had at a much more affordable cost."

On Tuesday, the Yuba County Board of Supervisors voted to continue the industrial hemp cultivation prohibition with a 3-0 vote. Supervisors Seth Fuhrer and Gary Bradford were not present.