Sonoma County marijuana growers came together Sunday near Sebastopol to talk about how their industry can come out of the shadows, flex some political muscle and position itself for a day when its product becomes legalized for all adults.
About 200 people gathered at the Sebastopol Grange for the first fundraiser of the newly formed Sonoma County Growers Alliance.
Speakers exhorted listeners to get involved in both lobbying the Legislature and in electing local officials who are sympathetic to their industry. They pointed to the wine industry, the county’s top legal crop, as a model to follow in developing a high-quality cachet and in influencing both state and local politics.
The message, said Craig Litwin, a former Sebastopol mayor, should be, “We’re here. We’re participating. We have money and we’re not going away.”
