HCGA Joins Forces With the Origins Council to Become California’s Largest Cannabis Advocacy Organization
[Stock photo by Kym Kemp]
Humboldt County Growers Alliance (HCGA), a trade association representing 275 licensed cannabis businesses in Humboldt County, announced today that HCGA has formally joined Origins Council (OC) as a regional partner for state and federal cannabis policy advocacy. Following the agreement, OC’s government affairs program now represents nearly 900 licensed cannabis businesses in legacy California-producing regions, making it the largest membership-based cannabis advocacy organization in California and among the largest in the United States.
Origins Council is a 501(c)4 advocacy organization that partners with membership-based trade associations representing California’s legacy cannabis-producing regions. In joining the Regional Council, HCGA joins the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance, Trinity County Agriculture Alliance, Sonoma County Growers Alliance, Nevada County Cannabis Alliance, and Big Sur Farmers Association as OC Regional Partners.
By unifying the voices of the three Emerald Triangle counties with other major California legacy producing regions, Origins Council will serve as a unified voice for small and independent legacy cannabis operators to advocate on state and federal cannabis policy. The membership of Origin Council’s six regional partner organizations collectively includes hundreds of small, independent, and legacy cannabis farms, as well as manufacturers, distributors, retailers, testing laboratories, and ancillary businesses.
Following the agreement, HCGA will continue to advocate independently on behalf of Humboldt County businesses on policies at the local level. HCGA will also continue to independently carry out a wide range of non-policy activities on behalf of its membership, including programs related to education, public relations, and market development.
“HCGA has been a trusted partner to the Origins Council since our formation in 2019. Our alliance over these past three years has been invaluable to advancing the mission and work of Origins Council on behalf of the legacy producing community. It is an honor to welcome HCGA into the OC Regional Council, we are grateful to be forging a path forward for California legacy cannabis together,” said Genine Coleman, Origins Council Executive Director.
“We have the most to gain and the most to lose. By joining together with fellow legacy cannabis-producing regions we are uniting with common values and vision to achieve our missions for the benefit of our communities,” said Natalynne DeLapp, HCGA Executive Director.
“With this year’s collapse in prices to the farmer, it’s more important than ever that legacy producing communities have a strong and unified voice in Sacramento and D.C,” said HCGA Policy Director Ross Gordon, who will also serve as Origins Council Policy Chair. “Joining forces with Origins Council will expand our collective voice on the most urgent issues we face, including cultivation taxes, expanded market access, fallowing, the normalization of cannabis cultivation as agriculture, and equitable federal cannabis legalization.”
Origins Council is represented by lobbyist Mark Smith, Founder, and Principal at the Smith Policy Group (SPG), a Government Relations firm representing clients in Sacramento and Washington D.C.
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Jump in the bed with fleas you get bit
This shit reminds me of the vaccine. Lets get the people all worked up and scared for their existence and then offer a buttered up way to safety and freedom. At a huge price to the taxpayers both of these systems are failing for the people. Funny how the CEO’s of Pfizer don’t think they need to take the vaccine. It’s also interesting that Congress and their staff aren’t mandated to take the vaccine. Crazy times we live in. FEAR IS THE BIGGEST MONEY MAKER. I say fuck em, they can keep their fear
good luck with all that 😂 You blindly voted for legalization and blindly jumped into the system. Now you get to say how high every time they say jump. You wanted it so quit complaining about how it is. The system was set up to trick you into spend all the money you had made previously on getting permitted, then crash the market and bankrupt you. They never had any intention of letting the small farmers succeed, it was a money grab. We all know it will be large out of area companies with billions to back them that will be the only ones in the game in the end. Congratulations on helping that happen by trusting the state.
Who would ever have thought in their wildest dreams that Cannabis farmers would need their own lobbyists.. On to K st. in D.C. and hit the big time.
Seems like we should start with our pandering and feckless legislators in Sacramento…
As almost everyone should know, much too little, much too late.
The industry was “protected” for decades by an unusual risk profile. This risk profile attracted a very specific participant demographic.
Now that the risk profile has been altered, it attracts a very different demographic as well as different methods and regions. There’s no going back.
Change is hard.
Every industry needs lobbyist to work in their best interest. However it appears this organization is modeled more after government than the private sector.
“…legacy producing communities…”
There’s a self important, gas-lighting phrase if there ever was one!
Weed can and will grow anywhere! And any certifiable moron can grow quality weed!
Lol! The game is over. This is just another huckster trying to line his nest with whatever dollars the “growers” aren’t paying to the politicians that fleeced them on the first go around!
“With this year’s collapse in prices to the farmer…” That one sentence says it all. Sure haven’t seen any collapse in prices to the dispensary, that’s for sure. $200 pounds are still going for $30 an eighth there. What a bunch of parasites. Legal gets what they deserve, how about you forget about the taxes and the government and start going after the dispensaries? They’re the ones making dough hand over fist while paying bottom dollar to the farmer.
I’ve said the same many times. Let’s see how it plays out when they put all the small farms out of business and are stuck buying from 10 corporate farms with inferior product. The public will refuse to pay 10 a gram and dispensaries will be forced to drop the price! Greed always gets smoothed out by Karma.
// “Greed always gets smoothed out by Karma.”//
Apparently you haven’t been watching the history of the top 1% in the world over the last 100 years.
JB
Apparently I have. It’s a mess with most of those families. Name one without tragedy, incest, rape, murder, child abuse, or fall from grace.
Name one extended family anywhere without drama. Your family and my family just don’t make the news.
To think that poor families have the good karma and the rich get the bad is just confirmation bias. My family had all that you mention and not a one of us is a greedy bastard.
Well thanks for speaking for yourself, as for me and my family we don’t have any of the drama I mentioned. Thanks for the confirmation!
That’s not confirmation of your theory, it’s confirmation that your theory is wrong.
You really seriously think that poor families and wonderful people don’t have those sorts of tragedies? Surely you’re not that delusional.
JB
To be rich is in the eye of the beholder. Furthermore you steered the conversation down the path between rich and poor. The topic was about dispensaries taking advantage of the farms. Try and stay with the conversation and it can remain constructive, if you allow.
looks like we will have to settle up with a duel. You sir get the expensive, elite, newly constructed hand cannon, and you sir get the rusty poor-mans third-hand blastaroo. good luck gentleman.
The topic set by you is greed and karma and the evidence (bad things happening to good people all the time) means you lose.
QED
I stand by my point “Greed is smoothed out by Karma”. You felt it necessary to make another point. No winner no Loser.
How can organizations that represent dispensaries also represent farmers? Dispensaries are paying super low prices and consumers certainly aren’t paying less per 1/8th. I don’t see how this benefits farmers in particular.