Lisa Leff 7/22/09
of hemp
OAKLAND, Calif. — Oakland residents overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to approve a first-of-its kind tax on medical marijuana sold at the city's four cannabis dispensaries.
Preliminary election results showed the measure passing with 80 percent of the vote, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.
The dispensary tax was one of four measures in a vote-by-mail special election aimed at raising money for the cash-strapped city. All four measures won, but Measure F had the highest level of support.
Scheduled to take effect on New Year's Day, the measure created a special business tax rate for the pot clubs, which now pay the same $1.20 for every $1,000 in gross sales applied to all retail businesses. The new rate will be $18.
Oakland's auditor estimates that based on annual sales of $17.5 million for the four clubs, it will generate an estimated $294,000 for city coffers in its first year.
Pot club owners, who openly sell pot over the counter under the 1996 state ballot measure that legalized medical marijuana use in California, proposed Measure F as a way to further legitimize their establishments.
"It's good business and good for the community," said Richard Lee, who owns the Coffee Shop SR-71 dispensary and Oaksterdam University, a trade school for budding dispensary workers.
The measure had no formal opposition; in November 2004, a ballot initiative that required Oakland police to make arresting adults using marijuana for personal use their lowest priority passed with 63 percent of the vote.
Support for Measure F was expected to be just as strong. As a result and given the mail-in nature of the election, there was little campaign activity, according to Lee.
"We put out signs, but outside of that it's been pretty low-key," said Lee, who hosted a victory party at Oaksterdam University's Student Union building in downtown Oakland.
Although California's 800 or so pot clubs also are expected to pay state sales tax, Oakland is the first city in the country to create a special tax on marijuana sales.
Advocates of legalizing pot for recreational use hope to use Oakland's experience with Measure F to persuade California voters next year to approve a measure that would legalize and regulate marijuana like alcohol.
Can Hemp Help The Everglades?
Science Daily — Within Southern Florida, soil and water conditions indicate potential for leaching from the use of atrazine-based herbicides in corn crops. Scientists from USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Florida conducted studies to evaluate the specific groundwater risk from atrazine use by focusing on a specific cover crop that seems to have the potential to greatly reduce that risk.
The crop is called sunn hemp. It's a tall, herbaceous annual that grows rapidly to a height of 6 to 7 feet.
The region's aquifer provides drinkable water for nearly all of the rapidly growing population. Agricultural practices that impair water quality may also stunt a massive project intended to restore the Florida Everglades ecosystem. Many investigations have shown that cover crops can reduce herbicide usage.
The studies revealed that atrazine and some of its products may seep into the groundwater and impair water quality. Climate, cropping patterns, high dilution rates, and high chemical degradation rates limited the contamination levels. Measurements also showed that cover crops significantly reduced contamination in groundwater.
The studies focused on sweet corn production and included whether fields with a highly vigorous cover crop would reduce impacts. Sunn hemp planted during uncultivated summer periods was the most focused upon. Crops such as these can be effective in reducing weeds.
Results of this four year study, which has support from the South Florida Water Management District, were published in the 2007 September-October issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality. Levels of atrazine and three of its products were monitored in groundwater directly beneath sweet corn plots treated annually with the herbicide. On plots maintained with the cover crop, all plant residues were chopped and turned into soil before planting the next corn crop.
Growers are encouraged to plant cover crops since there are many other potential benefits, including reduced nutrient leaching, wind erosion, and improved soil quality. To promote adoption of the practice, further research is needed to identify more cover crops that behave similar to sunn hemp and the low-cost sources of its seed. High seed cost is a limiting factor to more widespread use of this effective cover crop.
Atrazine is also used globally resulting in numerous studies that demonstrate its contamination of water supplies. Both the original compound and its subsequent products are being detected in surface water and shallow groundwater. This highlights the need to determine the extent of water risks during atrazine use and to develop conservation practices to minimize negative affects.
