Pubdate: Sat, 17 Mar 2007 Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA) Contact: 2007 The Press Democrat Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348 Author: Glenda Anderson Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) REDUCED MEDICAL MARIJUANA LIMITS WIDELY OPPOSED A proposal by two county supervisors to reduce the amount of medical marijuana patients are allowed to possess and cultivate is drawing fire from the sheriff and all three candidates for district attorney in Mendocino County. Supervisors Mike Delbar and Jim Wattenburger have drafted a resolution that would lower the number of allowed mature pot plants to six and the amount of dried marijuana a patient can possess to 8 ounces, the minimum the state says counties should allow. With a doctor's order, a patient could get a waiver from the limit, Delbar said. "It should be plenty," he said. Currently, medical marijuana patients in Mendocino County are allowed to grow as many plants as they can fit under a 100-square-foot canopy and they may possess up to 2 pounds of processed marijuana. That's much more than anyone should need, Delbar said, noting concerns about the crime associated with people who are illegally making a business out of growing medical marijuana. Delbar and Wattenburger, who comprise the Board of Supervisors' Criminal Justice Committee, expect to have an ordinance ready to forward to the full board next month. The other three supervisors were unavailable for comment Friday. The resolution faces strong opposition from Sheriff Tom Allman, three candidates for district attorney and medical marijuana activists. Allman said it's impractical to try to enforce a six-plant limit. "This is going to place a burden on law enforcement. If it's lowered to the state minimum, my deputies this summer will not be able to focus on any other public safety issue," he said. Delbar discounted that concern. "Whether a deputy has to count to six or 25, it's a math issue," he said. The proposal would also change the marijuana limit supported by Mendocino County voters, who approved a 25-plant limit when they passed the nonbinding Measure G in 2000. "I won't go along with it" if elected, said Keith Faulder, assistant district attorney and a candidate for district attorney. The proposed reductions also are impractical and unfair because residents of both Humboldt and Sonoma counties would then have considerably higher allowances, Faulder and district attorney candidates Bert Schlosser and Meredith Lintott said. Patients who possess a legal amount of medical marijuana in one county could be arrested while driving through another county, they said. It's a violation of equal protection laws as well as being a burden on law enforcement, Faulder said. "It makes no sense to have it be different," Lintott said. Currently, differences in the amount of medical marijuana allowed in various counties abound. A number of counties, including Lake, use the state's minimum guideline of six mature plants and 8 ounces of dried pot. And while Sonoma, Humboldt and Mendocino counties all limit plants to a 100-square-foot area, Sonoma and Humboldt counties allow 3 pounds of dried marijuana, while Mendocino County allows 2 pounds. "If I had a genie, I wouldn't wish for a million dollars. I would wish the people in Sacramento would make one law that would be consistent in all 58 counties in the state," Allman said. Marijuana use and production remain in violation of federal law. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake