Cannabis crisis? What crisis? The Feb. 26 column submitted by the Lake County Community Action Project, or CAP, misrepresents the successes and challenges of Lake County’s cannabis industry.

CAP’s founding members state the cannabis “floodgates” opened in 2018, while permit approval has been more of a slow, steady drip spanning years for most applicants. For fiscal year 2022-23, Lake County had only 38 annual state licenses, less than 1% of all licenses issued statewide. The 2023 Lake County crop report showed 219 total acres of state-licensed cannabis cultivation, but more than 10,000 acres of wine grapes. Who’s flooding whom?

Yes, cannabis prices are trending down as state licensing comes online, and it doesn’t help when illicit growers continue to engage in unfair competition. State and local taxes certainly present a challenge. However, federal tax policy is the larger concern because cannabis business owners can’t deduct most business expenses under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 280(e). Don’t hold your breath waiting for cannabis tax reform as the DOGE wrecking ball takes aim at the IRS and other federal agencies.

CAP members suggest planning resources could be better used on other projects, but planners don’t get to pick and choose when and where projects are proposed. When an application is filed, they perform site-specific analysis and environmental review to ensure all state and local standards are met. The Lake County Planning Commission conducts public hearings, and its permit approvals can be appealed. Our robust cannabis ordinance protects public health and safety, not in theory but in daily practice.

CAP suggests processing new cannabis applications will “doom” small growers. Not so. As of today, there are nearly 150 licensed cannabis operations in Lake County, still less than 2% of licenses statewide. This slow but steady growth shows ingenuity and business savvy, not gloom and doom.

Measure C was not designed to deliver “return on investment” to anyone. It was designed to allow the county and its communities to see added value from the investments made by cannabis businesses, and it has done exactly that since its passage. Throttling cannabis permit applications after years of sustainable growth won’t protect local growers from competitors large and small, but it would seriously damage Lake County’s newest agricultural sector – and the jobs and taxes it generates.

Michael S. Green is the former District 4 supervisor. He lives in Lakeport, California.