HappyDay: ‘What a Week!’
Casey O’Neill is a cannabis and food farmer in Mendocino County who has been writing newsletters about his efforts to provide sustainable produce and marijuana. We feature his column once a week.
What a week! We were off farm for four vending opportunities, three cannabis related and our regular Laytonville Farmers market on Mondays. Though there is much spring work to do, I’m glad to get out and meet new folks and see old friends. The changes in the cannabis market have created a lot of pressure and stress within the community, and it was good to get together and remember the joy of gathering and friendship.
On Saturday we held the first in a series of Mendocino Producers Guild markets, with food and drink vendors, craftspeople and makers and farms selling cannabis and non cannabis goods. It was a perfect spring day, the ground soft and squishy from recent rains and the sun warm and pleasant.
Fostering community spaces takes work, from leadership and participants. I want to take a moment to appreciate the significant efforts of the good folks at Mendocino Cannabis Distribution and the Mendocino Producers Guild. Traci Pellar and Meagan Hedley have provided exemplary leadership within MPG, helping to coordinate and provide support to farmers in the complicated process of getting products market-ready in compliant packaging and everyone organized for the big day.
The team at Mendo Distro did a great job dealing with the bureaucratic headaches in the regulatory process, getting the site ready, and navigating the extra moisture from the recent rains by spreading wood chips where needed and helping accommodate the vendors and attendees. Big thanks to Nick Smilgys, Tom Perry, Angela Avila and the whole squad at Mendo Distro for all your hard work!
Being able to partner with a local company to help with cannabis processing has been crucial for our farm, and we are grateful to be able to work together in community to see cannabis go from farm through processing, packaging and distribution by people we know and love.
Farms don’t have the ability to sell direct to consumers because of bad regulations, although Assembly Bill 2691 proposes to allow for some direct-market opportunities. Our North Coast representative Jim Wood has authored the bill, and we appreciate his support. We are grateful to Genine Coleman and Origins Council for all of the hard work on cannabis policy at the state level, and Michael Katz and the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance here on the local level.
While we hope for passage of AB2691, in the meantime much appreciation to Brandy Moulton and the folks at Sovereign for bringing the necessary retail license component to make the market happen. Farms conduct the interactions, displaying the herb and talking with customers about it, and then the final transaction happens at the retail booth.
It feels good to have all of the things we grow and produce on the table together, cannabis, vegetables, canned goods, cut flowers, seeds and information about our farm. It feels good to see the community come out to share in the event, and we are glad for the support from folks who purchase our goods.
The cannabis farmers market model was what gave us the fortitude to enter into regulation, with the old 215 farmers markets at Area 101 in 2014 and 2015. Losing that ability with the passage of regulations was a critical blow that left us struggling within a forced wholesale paradigm. Getting back to the wholesome feeling of farmers market community gathering and festival atmosphere is a deep joy, and a bright spot of hope in a time of market collapse.
I am excited for the three markets remaining, on May 28th, June 25th and July 30th. For years there has been talk of cannatourism and the potential for cannabis to help bring dollars into our local economy. Events that encourage folks to travel here means money spent on food, lodging and the goods that local farms and businesses offer for sale. Seeds of hope are important, and I am glad for community working together to sow them. As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!
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so redheaded blackbelt is glamorizing that you’re a drug grower and a drug dealer.
“ The cannabis farmers market model”
You keyboard warriors are really making a difference in the world
I know it satisfies your meaningless day to get on here and hate.
It sound to me like you actually are asking for MORE government intervention, not less
There’s a good reason you are not allowed to sell directly to the consumer . For over 20 years you guys were making money hand over fist selling directly, not paying a dime in taxes at the same time getting your welfare and free healthcare. No wonder our roads , schools and Healthcare is a shambles . You can spare the myth that growers helped the community, its a lie .
Still blaming the little guy for the failing infrastructure?? Hahaha Lolololz Hahaha!!
And the little guy hurting the schools?? Hahaha Lolololz!! And healthcare??? You are badly misinformed if you think there is a Healthcare system! Oh wait..there is it’s called capitalism! Yup you pay to play..so no money? No healthcare…
Same with schools! Talk to Ronald Reagan about his support for low taxes that became prop 13. That’s why schools are not so good anymore!
Or how about the tax rate for industrial timberlands?
TPZ zoning pay ONE DOLLAR PER ACRE PER YEAR IN COUNTY TAX!!
That’s it.
Humboldt Redwood tax bill on 200,000 acres of land? Only $ 200k per year.
Maybe it’s the long term effects of corporate resource extraction and low to NO taxes for corporations and propaganda that teaches you to believe it’s all those greedy poor people’s fault!!
The pot growers have been demonized for the ills of capitalism for years.
Blaming the little guys trying to make it for their survival is called divide and conquer!
That’s the rich man’s game.
Give it up already.
Maybe some people didn’t give back, but all the people that I know that grow are fathers, mothers, business owners, volunteer fire fighters, coaches, and people of our community that give back in many many ways. You need to look through a different lense
I started to list all the organizations I know from Hospice to the Credit Union that grew out of the cannabis community including all the volunteer fire departments and that obviously just got unwieldy and I quit. And I didn’t even start on all the coaches, 4H leaders, arts groups, fundraisers for non profits, community schools, community events, etc that were supported by it.
Must have been different in SoHum. WVFD ran on about 7k a year from The BlackBerry festival which is barely anything..We never saw all the supposed grower money. Also a few growers did Volunteer but rarely showed up. Maybe Southern Humboldt is different.
Westhaven isn’t exactly a hot spot of cannabis cultivation. So that might explain that
Not true , the majority of structure fires in Westhaven had grow rooms inside . The fire often seemed to be caused by shoddy wiring of the grow room. Indoor weed growing is common in Westhaven .People don’t like to hear the truth.
Ah, well there’s your problem. I agree with your assessment of commercial indoor cultivators. They don’t generally seem to be as considerate of their surroundings and community as outdoor growers.
There are obviously better and worse actors in each camp, but my experience is that those who have been blowing up large indoor scenes have been less likely to be community minded and involved than those who did not.
If there is the Weaverville fire district, it is not surprising. Weaverville did everything it could to Alienate the grower community
He does sorta have a point. Out of all the millionaires in sohum every town down there is run down and not too pleasing to the eye. Where’s all this money that goes into the community because it sure doesn’t look like any of the ballers give a shit. They’re more concerned about having the newest biggest truck fueling their ego and never ending greed…
I’m not anti grower AT ALL, but it is hard to argue that the general infrastructure, and the overall appearance of, say, downtown garberville or Redway, has improved since the early 90s. It’s actually gotten much worse in those 30 years, which were ‘peak marijuana’ income.
You should visit some rural towns in the uppermidwest and rust belt that used to have industry,fishing, mining, or logging economies. See if you think they look better or worse without the cannabis industry that stepped in in the 80s out here.
In every other part of the country I’ve visited, a town as remote as garberville or willow creek would be an absolutely ghost town
But this is coastal California, not the Midwest. It is intrinsically a better place to live.
Well then just go visit crescent city to see what a coastal California Town that didn’t have a cannabis industry looks like
I don’t know about you guys but I’m worried about the trajectory for the future and the ability to sustain this kind of economy. I feel like the market is saturated and it’s hard to see a way through this. I planted a meth bush this year. We’ll see how it goes.
You’re going to need a permit for that. It should be much easier to get than the weed one.
Ephedra?
Hope is not a strategy