Why sign the petition?

The initiative balances the interests of residents and industrial cannabis businesses while having no impact on recreational or medicinal use of cannabis.

City voters of Mount Shasta solidly passed Proposition 64 in 2016 legalizing recreational cannabis in addition to medicinal cannabis and providing a 600-foot buffer zone around schools and daycares. Since then the city council and planning department have favored expansion of industrial cannabis businesses over consideration of residents including children and youth. These are businesses that manufacture things like high THC concentrate vape cartridges that have recently been implicated in lung injuries and deaths.

Residents have lost confidence in the city’s ability to regulate industrial cannabis businesses equitably. The number of allowed cannabis industry licenses per capita in our small town is one of the highest in northern California, more than even Arcata and Eureka in Humboldt County. Industrial cannabis businesses can be permitted in residential neighborhoods in Mount Shasta; buffer zones around schools have been manipulated to accommodate industrial cannabis expansion; two cannabis businesses were improperly licensed within 300 feet of a preschool without notifying the preschool owner; and an industrial cannabis business is likely operating a retail delivery service for recreational cannabis – illegal under city code – with the city’s knowledge.

The initiative brings more accountability and transparency to residents and voters. Adults can continue to access to recreational and medical use of cannabis. Existing industrial cannabis businesses can continue to operate.

Sign the petition to allow residents the right to vote on strengthening industrial cannabis regulation. The initiative petition can be found in several locations in town. For key features of the initiative, contact Tom Scovill, Chair of Keep Cannabis Away from Kids, (530) 918-8163, or email scovilltom@gmail.com.