HUMBOLDT – A campaign to suspend Humboldt County’s cannabis excise tax is underway and a member of the Board of Supervisors has said the request is already being actively discussed.
In a press release, the Suspend Measure S campaign asks the county to “forgive” the October 2021 excise tax payment, “waive” the next payment due in March and to suspend the tax for a year following that.
During the suspension, the campaign asks that a “new equitable and fair tax” be devised.
The county has recognized that the local cannabis industry is struggling amid unfavorable market conditions. Last October’s tax payment has been deferred to the end of May and additional grant opportunities have been added to the county’s Project Trellis assistance program.
But cannabis farmers say they’re close to the edge of insolvency.
When the Board of Supervisors discussed cannabis regulation issues at their Jan. 11 meeting, cannabis farm owner and consultant Mika Cook said the county’s longstanding cannabis farming tradition is facing an existential threat.
“It seems really scary right now with the state of the industry as it is because we might not survive – it feels like we are in an extinction event, period,” she said. “And if we, as small farmers who really do care passionately about protecting the environment don’t make it, who’s gonna come in to replace us?”
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