Questions, calls to allow weed industry in Redding abound at marijuana meeting

At a sparsely attended meeting Monday on marijuana, most of the handful of public speakers called on the city of Redding to embrace cannabis industry jobs. 

"I'm hoping Redding changes their minds," said Gina Monday, owner of the Mount Shasta Dispensary Green Heart and who previously operated two dispensaries in Shasta County. "Maybe Green Heart might come back in. We love Shasta County. Well, we love Redding." 

Redding's City Attorney Barry DeWalt organized the panel discussion on marijuana businesses at the City Council chambers. He said he's seeking input on how the city should deal with the medical and newly legalized recreational industry taking shape, specifically quality assurance labs and manufacturers. 

It was the third and final meeting since voters legalized marijuana and laid out a bureaucracy to regulate it via Proposition 64 in November.

Of the approximately 10 people who spoke, most either called for the city to allow the industry in or asked questions of the two panelists, concentrated-cannabis manufacturer Cody Davis and plant scientist Lydia Abernethy with Steep Hill Labs in Berkeley. 

Shasta County Chemical People executive director Betty Cunningham expressed concerns about how much power and water the companies use, as well as the effects on public safety.

Davis said he uses ethanol in a closed loop extraction system that recycles about 85 percent of the liquid used. Any waste is treated as hazardous waste, he said. 

Steep Hill Labs ruins the remains of the marijuana samples after testing so they can't be smoked, Abernethy said. Both said their facilities use locks and cameras for security.

The lab in Berkeley is nondescript from the outside. On the inside, it would be difficult for anyone not familiar with its layout to navigate and otherwise resembles other laboratories she's seen, though with one difference, she said.

"It does smell delightfully of weed all the time," she said. 

Permitting and regulating manufacturers, who produce edibles, balms and concentrates, will make the city safer from butane honey oil labs, Davis said. 

"We've seen what it does in an unregulated market: It causes people to blow themselves up in hotel rooms for a quick dollar," he said. But the quality of employees matters most for security, said Davis, who operates a 2,400-square-foot extraction facility in Trinity County.

Sharon Smedley asked whether packaging will indicate how strong the marijuana is. She compared it to alcohol, saying it's harder to know how much is too much without the booze's proof on its packaging.

Davis said customers want to know what's in their products — it's why his concentrates sell better when he includes the test results on the packaging. 

Staff members are going to review all the input received, including written comments submitted to attorney@cityofredding.com, before presenting a report and a recommendation to the council on Oct. 17, city attorney DeWalt said.

The decision will then be in the council's hands.