Pubdate: Sat, 18 Aug 2007
Source: Mail Tribune, The (Medford, OR)
Copyright: 2007 The Mail Tribune
Contact:  http://www.mailtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/642
Author: Anita Burke
Note: Only prints LTEs from within it's circulation area, 200 word count limit

POT FIND IS THE LEGAL KIND

Cops Realize Medical Marijuana Garden Is Within The  Law; Grower
Wishes Neighbors Had Called Him First

The officers serving a search warrant on what they  thought was a
massive marijuana-growing operation had  swarmed a greenhouse filled
with plants and were poised  to kick in the door of a house on the
property when the  word came.

This was a registered medical marijuana site and it  complied with
Oregon law.

"This is a frustration for us," said Sgt. Rick  Valentine, supervisor
of the Jackson County Narcotics  Enforcement Team, who coordinated the
seven Jackson  County Sheriff's Department employees making this
search earlier this month. "When we spend time on what  turns out to
be legal activity, it takes away from what  we could do on illegal
activities."

But if the misguided raid was a frustration for  investigators, it was
a shock to the grower, who  arrived home to find a fleet of law
enforcement  sport-utility vehicles parked in his driveway and
officers everywhere.

"I felt pretty violated," said the grower, who didn't  want to be
named in the newspaper. "I'm not a criminal.

"They turned out to be nice-enough guys, but I wish  they had talked
to me."

He said he wished his neighbors who complained about  his 65-foot-long
greenhouse filled with bushy marijuana  plants had come to him before
contacting police.

He could have explained that he is the registered  grower for four
medical-marijuana patients -- a  22-year-old woman who was in a car
crash and suffers  from back pain, her mother who has multiple
sclerosis,  a woman with ovarian cancer, and an elderly man who has
battled excruciating migraine headaches for years.

But as marijuana -- whether in registered  medical-marijuana gardens
or vast cartel-operated plots  in the forest -- matures in the
Southern Oregon summer,  most people, wisely, don't stop to ask
questions. They  call police.

"Once the plants extend beyond a fence, we get calls on  a pretty
regular basis," Medford police Lt. Tim Doney  said.

Valentine said his agency gets at least one call every  day this time
of year from someone who has spotted pot  plants. He estimates that
nearly 90 percent of easily  visible gardens are medical marijuana,
but  investigators must follow up every call.

"It used to be real clear-cut," Doney said. "If you saw  marijuana, it
was illegal. Now we have to do more  homework."

Investigators start by checking the Oregon Medical  Marijuana Program
database of medical marijuana  patients, caregivers and growing sites.
The program,  operated by the Department of Human Services, shows
that as of July 1, the state had issued 14,868 medical  marijuana
cards statewide, including 1,295 in Jackson  County. The number of
registered growing sites isn't  publicly available.

Under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, each cardholder  can have six
mature plants, 18 seedlings, and 24 ounces  of usable marijuana. A
registered grower can grow for  up to four cardholders.

But investigators say the law is sometimes abused, and  if they have
suspicions backed up by observation or  witness statements, they will
seek a search warrant.  They've done that twice this summer, only to
find  compliant growers, Valentine said.

He said that in his initial survey of the site searched  earlier this
month, he estimated the greenhouse  contained about 300 plants. But
when the officers  serving the search warrant counted stems, there
were  only 24 -- the number authorized by the four cards the  grower
displayed at the site.

"The law doesn't say what 'too big of a plant' is,"  Valentine
said.

The grower said the family friends and acquaintances  who chose him to
produce their medical marijuana  selected him because they knew he
could nurture plants.

"I have a good horticultural resume," he said, touting  his experience
on two organic farms in Washington. He  has grown medical marijuana in
the Rogue Valley for two  years.

He creates organic compost teas to feed the plants and  for his
efforts over a six-month growing season to  produce a year's worth of
medicine, he is reimbursed  $15,000 to $25,000, he said. State law
allows  cardholders to reimburse growers for supplies and  utilities.

He said he grows a marijuana strain that produces a  high volume with
a low amount of active chemicals. He  described it as "fluffy," but
still noted that each  mature plant produces between one and a half
and two  pounds of usable marijuana. The grower said advocacy  groups
around the state help facilitate transfers of  excess marijuana. State
law allows a cardholder to give  marijuana to another cardholder if no
money is  exchanged, but authorities said there is no clear  provision
for clubs to swap or share marijuana.

"For voters, the intent was good," Valentine said of  the medical
marijuana law Oregon voters approved in  1998. "They wanted to help
people who were suffering,  but this has gone beyond what people
envisioned."

He said permitting smaller amounts and requiring  growers to submit to
compliance checks would make  enforcement easier for police.

He estimates that JACNET currently spends nearly 50  percent of its
time investigating complaints about  marijuana ultimately found to be
compliant, medical  growing operations.

"It takes a lot of time out of our schedule that could  be spent on
methamphetamine or heroin, which is  increasing here," Valentine said.

The grower searched this month said he understands how  people can
have fears about drugs and drug-related  violence in their
neighborhoods when they see marijuana  growing.

"If I saw something that looked dangerous next to my  home, I would
want it checked out, too," he said.

However, he said people shouldn't feel threatened just  because they
don't understand the medical marijuana  program and assume all growers
are criminal.

"I run a clean operation," he said. "I have my own  family to keep
safe."

He said the greenhouse shields neighbors from the scent  and view of
his controversial crop. He reiterates,  though, that a majority of
voters has authorized  operations like his.

"Like it or not, it's the law," he said.
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