'I Just Signed It' 

Editor:

In 2022, I was approached at the Arcata Co-Op, 6-year-old son in tow, and asked to sign a petition to "help small farmers" and "keep corporate cannabis out of Humboldt" ("Growers Seek to Remove Cannabis Initiative from Ballot," Oct. 19). Distracted, I agreed, thinking it was about supporting local small farmers, and that the petition was going to help them. In all honesty I was so naive that I didn't realize, nor do I remember being told, that I was signing a petition to have something put on the ballot. Distracted by my busy child and without time to read the document I just signed it.

As a small farmer whose business had already faltered, I was persuaded by the message he told me. Many of my fellow small-scale farmers had faced struggles, and I wanted to support the remaining small farmers by signing the petition. I wasn't aware of what it was really going to change. They didn't tell me how it would impact existing farmers; I thought it was about keeping new big corporate farms out. In hindsight, I felt coerced to sign, my good intentions manipulated by selective information. I felt pressured and like I was told what I wanted to hear. I doubt that they would have disclosed the whole truth even if I had more time to chat. I don't think I will ever sign anything again unless I have time to read all of the fine print.

Joel Rosser, Arcata