Wow! What’s up with our city governments? First, no more toilet paper in Newark, N.J., and now the city council of Oakland, Calif., approved measures that give the go-ahead for large-scale pot farms as a way to generate revenue and regulate the industry late Tuesday night.
In other words, Oakland wants weed to make the city rich.
Legislators will sign off on four permits for industrial-sized operations, which can be as large as 100,000 square feet, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
If California state voters approve Prop. 19, a November ballot initiative that would legalize recreational use of pot, Oakland has positioned itself to become home to legal weed factories.
Just how much profit is Oakland expecting from the venture? To be considered for a permit, applicants must submit and application, which includes a $5,000 administrative fee. They must also have $3 million for insurance and fork over a $211,000 annual permit fee to the city.
The four dispensaries that already operate in Oakland grossed roughly $28 million in 2009 and the city plans to raise its current 1.8 percent tax to as much as 12 percent, the Oakland Tribune reports.
Not everyone is pleased with the city’s new regulations, especially small marijuana farmers, who say the four pot factories will push them out of business and dilute the product.
Imagine that … the smaller weed farmers are upset about new bigger weed farmers on the block.
Hmm … Can anyone say drug war?
