On Tuesday, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors repealed Measure S in a unanimous vote, with Michelle Bushnell recused.

The supervisors were considering the future of the tiered voter-passed initiative that has levied taxes on cannabis culitvation, and were in alignment with repealing the measure.

The board has repeatedly moved to suspend or substantially reduce Measure S taxes in recent years, given a crash in the cannabis industry, with cultivators repeatedly pointing to thousands in debt to the county while facing hard times following recreational legalization in California.

On Tuesday afternoon, the board was considering how to tax the 2026 and 2027 cultivation years under the measure while also addressing future of the law. They considered repealing or reshaping the tax. After a discussion, the board chose the first option, which would eliminate the county burden of administrating the tax but put more strain on its struggling budget.

Given the voter-passed nature of the ordinance, the move Tuesday leaves the option for a future board to reinstate the measure, county counsel said at the meeting.

A large show of cannabis farmers and their advocates urged the board to initiate the repeal, something pushed for over the years by the industry as the market price of the crop dropped substantially, and legalization added new regulations and fees, with reverberating effects in cannabis growing communities and Humboldt County’s economy at large.

Measure S was unanimously placed on the ballot by the supervisors in 2016 as an effort to fund essential services, in particular local efforts to mitigate the negative effects of cannabis farming locally. It was approved by voters with 63% in support.

The board did not specifically address owed Measure S taxes in their motion, but spoke in support of keeping past due taxes in effect, in line with previous votes established a deadline of Dec. 31 and payment plans for cultivators facing financial hardship.

This story will be updated later with additional information.

Sage Alexander can be reached at 707-441-0504