Legal pot in California is now in its 11th month, and some local farmers are looking to grow their income by planting marijuana next to their other crops.
But up in Napa County, world-famous for its wines, there is still a ban on commercial cultivation.
KRON4 talked to the Napa County Farm Bureau, which has concerns about mixing the crops.
“There are grape growers in Napa County who are interested in growing cannabis,” Farm Bureau General Manager Ryan Kolbas said.
Drinkers know it’s a bad idea to mix grapes with grain but what about grapes and grass?
When it comes to farmers planting cannabis near vineyards, it turns out there are concerns.
“There are some people because it’s illegal (federally), they take issue with it, but for us, it’s something that needs to be studied because it is a crop and it grows in the ground, and if Napa County continues to go down the path of allowing commercialization of cannabis, then that’s something we have to…position,” Kolbas said.
But it’s not just that fact that marijuana is still considered illegal by the federal government.
There are concerns that the plant could pollute the flavor of grapes.
“So, cannabis taint is an issue,” Kolbas said. “If you are growing cannabis next to wine grapes, we need to figure out when it reaches a high level of THC potency, is there any kind of drift that occurs from cannabis to wine grapes, where the wine grapes get affected by being grown so close to cannabis.”
On the flip side, there are also concerns that pot could also be negatively affected if grown too close to grapes.
“The chemicals that you would use on wine grapes versus cannabis are very different and cannabis is a product that under California law would need to test clean, and so we need to continue to look at is it feasible to plant cannabis next to wine grapes where in Napa county would that be more permissible,” Kolbas said. “Those are questions that still need to continue to look at and answer.”
At this point, the Napa County Farm Bureau has yet to take a position on the issue.
It’s quite possible they will get that extra time to study the issue.
On Nov. 13, the Napa County Board of Supervisors will consider extending their ban on commercial pot business, which includes farming another year.
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