BALLOT MEASURES PROPOSE EXPANSION OF CITY'S CANNABIS INDUSTRY

In less than a month, Berkeley voters will decide whether to pass two
measures that together would represent an unprecedented expansion of
the city's medical marijuana industry, allowing the city to license
and tax six cultivation facilities.

If passed during the Nov. 2 elections, Measure T would license and tax
six 30,000-square-foot growing facilities, allow a fourth dispensary
to operate in the city and reconstitute the city's Medical Cannabis
Commission. Measure S would place a 2.5 percent tax on medical
cannabis and - if voters pass California state Proposition 19,
legalizing marijuana for recreational use in the state - 10 percent on
nonmedical cannabis.

According to the city attorney's analysis, annual city revenue from
medical cannabis alone would total more than $400,000.

For most, the measures represent a compromise between the city and the
industry, with both offering hesitant support.

"Bringing in taxes and showing how medical cannabis ... can help
community development is a good thing for patients," said Amanda
Reiman, commission member and research director for the Berkeley
Patients Group, one of the city's three dispensaries. "It's good to
move this activity into a legitimate framework."

Though the vast majority of "cannabusiness" representatives support
the licensing of cultivation facilities, many would prefer to shift
the tax burden from dispensaries to recreational cannabis.

"Medical marijuana is quasi-prescribed," said Kris Hermes, commission
member and spokesperson for Americans for Safe Access. "Because of
that, it should not be taxed. Over-the-counter drugs are taxed, and
prescribed drugs are not taxed."

The reconstitution of the commission has also been a sticky issue,
with Mayor Tom Bates comparing the commission's current composition,
in an interview in July, to a "fox guarding the henhouse," while
Hermes said the reconstitution will make it "simply ... an arm of the
city."

Industry representatives have also argued that while a diversity of
voices is welcome, it is important to maintain a certain level of
expertise on the commission.

"Some of our staunchest opponents ... are coming from neighborhood
associations and people who call themselves members of the public,"
Hermes said. "So do I want to exclude that voice from the table?
Certainly not. However, it should be tempered by patients, physicians
and other experts that will bring a balance."

Erik Miller, manager of the Berkeley Patient's Care Collective, said
because Measure T eliminates the requirement that future cannabis
decisions go to the voters, it "puts all the power in the hands of the
City Council alone."

Others, including former Mayor Shirley Dean, oppose the measures on
the grounds that they are too vague regarding energy and electricity
standards and allow too much space - a maximum of 200 square feet -
for residential cultivation.

"That's the kind of thing that we would like to see," Dean said. "Not
something that is so poorly written that ... people (are) able to
circumvent the law ... this is very serious business."

Though safety and environmental standards are not mandated by the
measure, council and commission members have said repeatedly that such
standards will be included in the permitting process.

One question that has yet to be answered is whether the sites will
house multiple growers "farmers market style," Reiman said.

"Multiple growers and cultivators can occupy a single space," she
said. "So you don't have one company that does the entire thing."

When Councilmember Laurie Capitelli first suggested the idea of
cultivators sharing one facility in July, Councilmember Kriss
Worthington called the idea "entertaining, but unlikely to be realistic."

However, Reiman said the commission will encourage the council to give
extra consideration to applications involving multiple growers.