Pubdate: Sat, 21 Jun 2008
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2008 The Press Democrat
Contact: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/services/feedback.html
Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
Author: Glenda Anderson, The Press Democrat
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

VOTERS ROLL BACK LIBERAL POT RULES

With Absentee Ballots Finally Counted, Measure B Wins 52% Approval

A complete election tally has affirmed that voters on June 3 repealed 
Mendocino County's liberal marijuana guidelines.

"Measure B passed," Mendocino County Assessor/Clerk-Recorder Sue 
Ranochak announced Friday after the last of the outstanding absentee 
ballots were tabulated.

Measure B won with 52 percent of the vote, the same margin by which 
it was leading on election night, June 3.

In the complete tally, there were 14,577 votes in favor of Measure B 
and 13,369 opposed.

"I think it's a clear statement the citizens of Mendocino County are 
fed up by the abuses of the commercial growers," said Measure B 
coalition member and Ukiah City Councilman John McCowen.

"It sends a message that Mendocino County is no longer the best place 
in the nation to grow commercial marijuana," he said.

Measure B opponents downplayed their loss.

"It doesn't spell out a mandate," said Laura Hamburg, who was 
arrested earlier this year on charges of growing marijuana. The 
charges were dropped because she was growing marijuana for herself 
and several other people who hold prescriptions for medical marijuana.

Hamburg said the narrow vote margin indicates Mendocino County voters 
agree something needs to be done about illegal commercial 
cultivation, but they still want to protect legitimate medical 
marijuana growers from prosecution.

She's hoping that the opposing parties will sit down together to 
figure out the best way to meet their goals despite a vitriolic 
campaign that included allegations of sign stealing and questionable 
voter-registration against opponents of the measure.

Measure B proponents have other priorities.

Buoyed by their success, they plan to push efforts to rid the county 
of commercial growers, many of whom relocated or bought property in 
the area because of the county's liberal stand on pot.

Many of the growers say they are cultivating for medical patients but 
allegedly are making huge profits, which remains illegal under state law.

Measure B proponents say they will now push for more effective 
nuisance ordinances to deal with neighbors who abuse medical 
marijuana laws and will monitor law enforcement's prosecution of 
commercial pot growers.

They've established a phone line -- 467-3636 -- to monitor complaints 
about pot growers.

With Measure B's passage, Mendocino County joins 50 California 
counties adhering to state guidelines -- six plants per person for 
medicinal purposes. Lake County is among them. Sonoma County's 
guidelines call for a maximum of 30 plants.

Measure B went into effect June 4, according to the Mendocino County 
Counsel's Office. It repeals a local voter initiative from 2000 that 
directed law enforcement to make marijuana their lowest priority and 
to refrain from any prosecution for less than 26 plants.

Almost 60 percent -- 28,192 -- of Mendocino County's 47,040 
registered voters cast ballots in the election. Most of those, 
27,946, cast votes on Measure B. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake