Brown began her presentation by explaining what code enforcement is and what they do. “We are a local regulatory body that has jurisdiction over specific issues for cannabis enforcement,” she said. She described how the region has seen an increase in black market marijuana, and detailed how illegal grow sites are impacting resources and the local community. But despite how illegal cannabis activity has increased, Brown noted there have been many successes amidst the chaos. “One of the reasons code enforcement has been successful is because of our strong relationships with partner agencies,” she said. Then Brown detailed the common violations that code enforcement officers see at illegal grow sites. These include problems with how the greenhouses are built, incorrect electrical installations, unpermitted land use, and unapproved dwelling and sleeping quarters. One set of photos showed an example of these violations. It was a photo of an old barn that was retrofitted on the inside to grow and produce cannabis. None of the electrical installations had been installed by a licensed contractor and the entire site was unsafe.
“This type of thing is very typical almost everytime we go out,” she said. The next set of photos showed one end of a greenhouse had a “living” space for the workers and the other side had marijuana plants growing. There were also potential fire hazards throughout this combination “living and production” space. Other poor conditions had people living in tents or buildings without running water or proper heating and cooling. Brown then used the timeline of marijuana legalization to show how it has impacted the community. In 2016, code enforcement responded to 902 cases, 36% of which were marijuana related. In 2021, there were 1,878 cases and 58% were about marijuana. To respond to the increase in cases and illegal grows, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners declared a state of emergency related to unlawful cannabis activities. “There has been more enhanced enforcement of cannabis cases and illegal grow sites, but there’s more work to be done,” said Brown. n
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July 2022 | The Business Review
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