Pubdate: Wed, 01 Aug 2012
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Chico Enterprise-Record
Contact:  http://www.chicoer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861
Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority
Author: Ben Mullin

BUTTE SUPERVISORS MOVE TOWARD OUTDOOR MARIJUANA GROWING BAN

OROVILLE -- Less than a month after the defeat of Measure A, Butte 
County is on the way to a more restrictive medical marijuana ordinance.

The Butte County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to direct 
county staff to draft an ordinance similar to one in Kings County, 
which bans all outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana.

Supervisor Larry Wahl of Chico said he introduced the motion because 
he believed sending the issue to committee for another round of 
debate would be irresponsible.

"To farm this out to a committee is to abdicate our responsibility to 
do something," Wahl said.

Wahl was joined in approval of the motion by supervisors Kim 
Yamaguchi of Paradise and Bill Connelly of Oroville. Maureen Kirk of 
Chico and 4th District Supervisor Steve Lambert voted against the motion.

The Kings County ordinance county staff was directed to emulate does 
not specify a number of plants that can be cultivated or an acreage 
limit on any kind of grow. It prohibits "cooperatives, collectives, 
and any other form of medical marijuana distribution in all zones in 
the county."

The only medical marijuana growth allowed under the Kings County 
ordinance is for personal use by qualified patients within a locked 
and fully enclosed structure.

Under the Kings County ordinance, violators are fined $100 for their 
first offense, $200 for the second offense within one year, and $500 
for every additional offense within one year.

County staff is expected to deliver the ordinance to the Board of 
Supervisors by the end of August, Lambert said.

By contrast, under the defeated ordinance, growers would have been 
able to cultivate between six and 99 mature marijuana plants based on 
the size of their plots.

The ordinance prohibited marijuana cultivation on parcels less than a 
half-acre and required growers to submit proof of a doctor's 
recommendation to grow marijuana, according to a Butte County staff 
report. The report lists these requirements as objectionable to some voters.

Several community members spoke in favor of and against the 
cultivation of marijuana before the board made its decision.

Residential marijuana grows endanger neighbors and emit an unpleasant 
odor, said Chris Nicodemus.

Home invasions, burglaries and violence can result from the outdoor 
cultivation of marijuana, which can affect nearby residents, Nicodemus said.

"And make no mistake about it, bullets don't stop at property lines," he said.

However, terminally ill patients who use medical marijuana should be 
given special consideration, he said.

Thomas Wahl said a new ordinance should protect his partner, who 
takes marijuana to alleviate his struggle with AIDS. Wahl said his 
partner has made 15 court appearances in 21 years related to his marijuana use.

The new ordinance should also stop commercial marijuana cultivators, 
who have large, hazardous grow sites in the hills of Butte County, Wahl said.

Enforcement of the new marijuana cultivation ordinance will fall on 
the county, said Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey. Any new 
ordinance banning the cultivation of medical marijuana should come 
with money to hire additional county counsel to help with additional 
litigation, Ramsey said.
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