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Extracted from Consolidated Report
This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.
Lake County Grand Jury
• 2019-2020
Civil Grand Jury 2019/2020 County of Lake Industrial Hemp in Lake County
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 5 findings
F1
Page 65
The initial fee permit of $500.00 represented the minimum costs to cover the processing. The new regulations presented to the Board are a significant increase in workload for the Agriculture Department: administrative, personnel, and incidental costs. When enacted, there is potential to cause a financial loss to Lake County.
F2
Page 65
The regulations require that hemp cultivated for seed production must be carried out in a greenhouse equipped with air filtration because it is necessary to pollinate the plants to get seed production. This solution was accepted by both hemp and marijuana growers. Failure to control this issue causes a loss of value for the marijuana crop and can result in the hemp crop failing the THC content limit of 0.3 percent.
F3
Page 65
The inspection requirement for accessing the property references both the initial inspection and THC content inspection.
F4
Page 65
The administration of permit issuances and inspection is divided between two departments. Hemp is regulated by the Agriculture Department and Marijuana is regulated by the Planning Department. They are not considered legal grows without the correct permits.
F5
Page 65
During this investigation there emerged an impression that there was little exact understanding of the costs of general administration, personnel or other incidental costs related to the issuance and maintenance of the permitting process.
Recommendations 4
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R1Page 65The Agriculture Department as well as all other involved departments having regulatory authority regarding industrial hemp cultivation be directed to conduct a cost analysis. This information should flow to a central source for data analysis and action before presenting to the Board of Supervisors. This would permit fair adjustment of fees to cover costs administration. (F1.) (F5.)
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R2Page 65To be an effective solution Lake County needs to develop and make available to interested growers the minimum greenhouse structure and air filtration equipment requirements necessary to obtain a permit to grow. (F2.) 64
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R3Page 66The application should clarify access to crop property to satisfy regulatory requirements. Such access is to be scheduled during customary business hours or by appointment. (F3.)
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R4Page 66Consideration should be given to combine the appropriate sections that deal with hemp and cannabis from the Agriculture Department and Planning Department together under one department. Having a single regulating entity would serve to localize and coordinate the necessary expertise and eliminate a redundancy of effort and possible costs. (F5.)