Farmers and residents urge federal review of cannabis grant accounting

Two public commenters addressing the Oct. 1 budget hearing told the board they want outside oversight of how the county manages cannabis tax and grant money.

"It is time to bring in the federal government to follow the grants, follow the tax money, look at the communications," a speaker identifying as Pillsbury Family Farms said, urging federal review of grant accounting and what the speaker described as retaliatory actions tied to complaints. The commenter said county figures presented to the board did not clearly match underlying records and asked for independent examination.

Earlier, Justin Quayle told the board he was removed from a license after filing complaints and accused county actors of colluding to 'double tax' cannabis businesses; he urged the board to use enforcement tools against businesses that file complaints that he says led to his license suspension.

County staff did not accept or reject the allegations during the meeting. The board did not take formal action on the complaints but heard them as part of the public comment period and asked staff to improve public reporting of cannabis-related revenues and discretionary allocations so that the underlying figures are easier to verify.

What happens next: supervisors asked staff to produce clearer, public-facing documents about cannabis revenues and discretionary spending and to return with reconciled figures; no independent audit was ordered on Oct. 1.