Photo: The Weed Business |
That looks a lot better than slot machines to me. |
A study funded by casino developers says that a large-scale marijuana farm is the only other economically viable option for a hard-luck San Francisco Bay area town, as officials consider the fate of a major strip of waterfront property.
Environmental consultants evaluated 28 different proposed uses submitted by the public for the land. They determined that only a medical marijuana cultivation facility could generate enough revenue to pay market price for the 422-acre property in Richmond, California, reports Katherine Tam of the Contra Costa Times.
The plan calls for medical marijuana to be grown, packaged, stored and sold within the century-old buildings where the Winehaven winery operated in the pre-Prohibition days of the early 1900s. According to the study, city coffers would swell with $3.2 million a year in additional tax revenue, under a five percent tax rate, depending on how much the cannabis is worth.