NEVADA CITY, Calif. October 19, 2016 – The California Growers Association – Nevada County Chapter announced Wednesday its incarnation into a brand new community organization. The Nevada County Cannabis Alliance, created to build bridges between the cannabis culture in the area and the community at large, officially launched Wednesday at the Holbrooke Hotel, in downtown Grass Valley, at a members-only event.

Born from the efforts of the local Cal Growers, The Nevada County Cannabis Alliance absorbed several local organizations such as the No on W Campaign and will work with already established groups such as the Americans For Safe Access and WomenGrow.

“The Alliance builds on the efforts started by the Cal Growers Association – Nevada County Chapter in combination with the movement that was started when we defeated Measure W,” said Diana Gamzon, director of the Nevada County Cannabis Alliance.

At its launch, the organization presented its increased leadership, as well as a new team of professional staff that will help draft recommendations to local policy, organize volunteers and help spread the word about the work of internal advisory boards to create solutions to issues of public safety, environmental stewardship, youth access and education.

The Alliance will also act as an advocacy and trade organization in the area and advocate for the interests of its members in a way that benefits the greater community, including making recommendations for a cultivation ordinance that will help local farmers comply with new state laws.

“We are here to build bridges so that responsible members of the cannabis industry can legitimately participate in the county’s political and economic landscape,” said Jonathan Collier, Regional Chair of the California Growers Association for the Sierra Foothills region. “We’ve created strong channels of communication and solidarity with all facets of the cannabis community and the community at large.”

Collier will continue his leadership role as a member of the Alliance’s executive board along with other cannabis activists such as Mark Schaefer, chairman of the No on W Campaign.

“The ban brought so much energy onto the No on Measure W campaign and the movement in general, we took that energy and coalesced it into something new,” Schaefer said. “We’ve also been able to reach out across the aisle to bring the entire community together into a new vision for cannabis in Nevada County.”

Collier and Schaefer said the new energy represents a change in the tide for organizing the cannabis community in the county, and it is a testament to the strength of the movement toward cementing its legitimacy in the area.

“This marks a new chapter in the story of cannabis in Nevada County,” said Monica Laughter, board member and event chair for sister organization WomenGrow. “We are very much looking forward to being seen as legitimate members of the business community and to be recognized for the cultural and economic contributions that up until now have been shrouded in secrecy and fear of intimidation.”

For more information contact Nevada County Cannabis Alliance Communications Director Maria Herrera at 530-264-7376 or visit www.nccannabisalliance.org