Group of Calistoga residents in favor of outdoor cannabis growth and dispensaries

Anne Ward Ernst 

Supporters of marijuana use and outdoor growing of cannabis made their opinions heard at last week’s community forum where they found themselves surrounded by like-minded people.

The group of about 15 people, joined by a handful of city staff and public officials, attended the community forum to express their opinions on potential changes to local law following the November passage of Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana.

Some residents voiced their disappointment in Calistoga’s decision made earlier in 2016 to ban medical marijuana cultivation, but Mayor Chris Canning repeated that the decision was a stop-gap measure so that the city could maintain control over taxation and land use rights.

“The only reason we took that position in that moment in time was the state of California had backed all the municipalities kind of into a corner with the regulations,” Canning said. “So what you do is you take the most strict action, then you dial it back from there. We are a complaint-driven community” so the strategy is to err “on the conservative side, so we can dial back” once all the legalities and intricacies of the law, and its enforcement, are worked out.

The state law says up to six plants can be grown per household, but allows municipalities to set lower limits. Canning and Councilmember Jim Barnes both said they are in favor of recreational marijuana and open to outdoor growing, and are seeking the public’s input on the choices municipalities have as a result of Prop. 64, such as whether to allow growing cannabis outdoors, the number of plants, and whether to have a dispensary on a main street in town.

“I have no problem with revisiting this entire thing,” Barnes said. “I’ve never had a problem with marijuana. I’ve always thought that a plant that grows wild in nature should not be forbidden to somebody that wants to have it. That has been my position since I first toked up in Vietnam in 1965. So, now I’m on the record that I did inhale.”

The overall consensus of the residents at the meeting was that they are in favor of medical and recreational marijuana, the option of growing cannabis outdoors -- Prop. 64 allows for outdoor growing of cannabis so long as the plants can’t be seen by neighbors -- and dispensaries.

City Manager Dylan Feik said the city has received some complaints by residents not at the meeting that the plants have a skunk-like odor when the plants are blooming, and they have heard of other concerns such as potential theft of plants, water consumption, and in the case of indoor growing the hazards and high energy use associated with equipment needed to grow the plants.

“The objections and concerns that we are sharing with you are things we really hear from your neighbors, people who live here who also have to be taken into consideration,” Canning said.

Calistoga is in an agricultural community already, said Elizabeth Tangney, winemaker and vineyard manager of St. Helena Winery, and any objections to odors lodged by opponents of outdoor growing – of which there were none at the meeting – can be contested by the current use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers and other agricultural practices that are odorous and used in the wine grape growing industry throughout Calistoga and the Napa Valley.

“I’d like to grow (cannabis) in my garden. Don’t take that right away. Our town passed this ordinance by 63 percent. Don’t take away my right to garden,” she said.

Paul Knoblich and his wife have been residents of Calistoga for 10 years, both saying they have no problem with dispensaries or outdoor growing of cannabis so long as it didn’t interfere with their health or lifestyle.

“We live about as close to the main street, Lincoln Avenue, as anyone could. I would have just no objection whatsoever if there were dispensaries on Main Street,” Knoblich said.

Tom Sherman said he is in favor of dispensaries and spoke about Harborside, an Oakland-based dispensary, and the many offerings it has other than marijuana.

It’s a medical center, a health center, he said, and it offers programs to its patients such as substance abuse and misuse counseling, acupuncture, yoga, women’s support group, senior citizens support group, Reiki, and nutrition workshops.

“You’re going to be able to control who opens a dispensary here. To have it be congruent with the mud baths, the whole spa scene here, it only makes sense,” Sherman said.

A couple at the forum talked about the benefits medical marijuana provides for their 18-year-old son who suffers from cystic fibrosis, and encouraged officials to lean toward approving outdoor growth of up to six plants, and to take advantage of the new laws and capitalize on the positives the law offers, such as potential revenue for the city.

The tax benefits the city may receive are unclear at this point, Canning said, and the state hasn’t determined yet how any revenue, or grants, may or may not be distributed.

“There are so many different categories of groups and organizations that are ahead of a municipality in terms of who gets a grant before we would. There are some potential grants for police for enforcement, for fire, for education, for medical,” Canning said. “All that’s out there, but again,” all that is still unclear.

Canning said the city may have another community forum on the subject, and hopes to hear from more community members on how they feel about dispensaries and outdoor growth of cannabis so that the council can make an informed decision based on what the community says.