In this talk, John Ford, Director of Planning and Building for Humboldt County, welcomes attendees to the 90th Conference of the CCPCA, and offers an outline and perspective of the history of Humboldt as it relates to Cannabis, the evolution of legalization and permitting, and how these considerations relate to the planning process in general.
John Ford attended Humboldt State University and lived here from 2002 and 2008. Before returning to Humboldt County in 2016, Ford was the resource management agency service manager for Monterey County for eight years and had nearly 20 years of experience as a planner in California.
Ford joined the Planning and Building Department shortly before the recreational marijuana legalization measure Proposition 64 expanded upon the county’s existing medical marijuana business licensing responsibilities, which had been primarily handled by the Planning and Building Department.