NEVADA CITY, Calif. March 1, 2016 – An email, sent out by the Nevada County Republican Party, reads, in part: “The commercial growers are using an unfortunate child as a publicity stunt to ask the Board of Supervisors to create an exception and allow for outdoor growing of marijuana.” The child mentioned in the campaign email is Silas Hurd, an 11-year old boy diagnosed with a rare and relentless form of epilepsy called Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome.
The full text of the email:
Nevada County Republican Party
Our Board of Supervisors has empowered the voters to make a choice on Measure W in the June election which would ban outdoor marijuana growing. The commercial growers are using an unfortunate child as a publicity stunt to ask the Board of Supervisors to create an exception and allow for outdoor growing of marijuana. Measure W does not prevent those who medically need marijuana from growing it indoors i.e. a shed, garage or hot house. Please support our Board of Supervisors by emailing them and letting them know that you support putting Measure W on the ballot with no exceptions. They need to hear from you this week.
Sample email: “I support Measure W as originally passed by the Board of Supervisors. Please send Measure W to the voters in the June primary without any changes or exceptions.”
District1: Nate Beason: nate.beason@co.nevada.ca.us
District 2: Ed Scofield: ed.scofield@co.nevada.ca.us
District 3: Dan Miller: dan.miller@co.nevada.ca.us
District 4: Hank Weston: hank.weston@co.nevada.ca.us
District 5: Richard Anderson: richard.anderson@co.nevada.ca.us
Deborah Wilder, the Chair of the Nevada County Republican Party confirmed this was indeed sent by Nevada County Republican party. She did not comment on the “using an unfortunate child as a publicity stunt” part of the email.
Measure W, slated to go before voters in the June 7th election, asks voters to approve language changes in the current ordinance. Should the measure fail, the existing ordinance remains in place, including the outdoor growing ban. The BOS has passed a “clarifying resolution” stating : “If the Ballot Measure is not approved by a majority of the registered voters voting on the measure, it is the intent of the Board of Supervisors to reject the Ballot Measure, to repeal the ban on outdoor cultivation of marijuana and to consider and adopt other outdoor regulations at the next available meeting after the results of the election have been certified by the County Elections Official.” The resolution was passed after questions arose of what a No vote would actually mean. It is unclear if the text of the resolution, which is not included on the June ballot, fulfills the supervisors’ promise of “You’ll get to vote on this.”
Forrest Hurd, Silas’ father, filed a writ against Measure W yesterday.
The full text of Measure W can be found here.
The impartial analysis and arguments for and against are here.