A pot farm moving into a residential area? There are many residents who are infuriated by this idea, as well as some who endorse it. By next year, the Verdes Foundation hopes to operate a medical marijuana farm. They plan on growing 100 cannabis plants on a plot of land located in North Corrales. Residents expressed many concerns about the smell, security, and disruption to  the surrounding residential area. Last month, the Corrales city council held a meeting  where a ban on  growing, processing, distributing, and selling cannabis was proposed, put to a vote, then rejected.

     Corrales residents made clear the reasons for this proposed ban. The people living near the lot  complained about the high security there would have to be at the farm. This could include anything from armed security guards to towering walls, but the Verdes Foundation’s website says that the fencing around the farm will “fit the character of the neighborhood” and have a “security alarm system that will be discreet to neighbors.” Their goal is to support the commercial growth of marijuana while still conforming to the local regulations. Other worries concerning light, noise, and smell were put to rest when a representative of the Verdes Foundation, Steven Butterman, said that “there are good practices we can use to mitigate these things”, though he did not offer an example. Another reassurance that the pro-marijuana advocates presented was the fact that there have been other pot farms in Corrales over the past nine years, and none of them have had problems with the light, noise, or smell related concerns that have been voiced.

     In support of the the Verdes Foundation, the pro-pot farm citizens argued that the cultivating of marijuana would help keep the agricultural community alive. Instead of the ban, another ordinance was proposed restricting cannabis farming to the commercial zone in Corrales. However, residents are also apprehensive about  a more hypothetical problem. They are concerned that the acceptance of marijuana into the agricultural community would lead to the future legalization of recreational cannabis use. Councilor George Wright said that Corrales is in the path of a “cannabis tsunami” that began with the legalization in Colorado. Despite this councilor’s concerns, the ban was still vetoed. At the end of this packed city council meeting, the Verdes Foundation was granted permission to cultivate cannabis on the piece of land in north Corrales. They plan to move in next spring.