Pubdate: Fri, 23 Aug 2013
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2013 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: Roger H. Aylworth

MARIJUANA ADVOCATE SAYS FOOTHILL POLLUTION NOT FAULT OF MEDICINAL GROWERS

CHICO - One of the most public and vocal advocates for medical 
marijuana says there are "bad actors" who are growing cannabis in 
reckless and polluting ways, but he also says they are not the norm.

Andrew Merkel of Chico, who chairs the board of Western Plant Science 
Association, a medicinal cannabis advocacy group, says growers who 
tear up the countryside, pollute the land and waterways are not the 
individuals who are growing for their own needs or in collectives.

He said that this year, "There was this rush for everybody to get out 
there. It was like the Gold Rush."

In a telephone interview, Merkel said the recent discussion about 
serious pollution problems created by marijuana gardens are not 
problems created by people growing for medicinal purposes.

"We are talking about honest people who are growing under the medical 
marijuana laws," he said.

Merkel said "obviously" the serious pollution and other environmental 
damage "has got to stop," but "most of the water pollution is coming 
from illegal grows in the mountains."

Merkel was one of the individuals who took part in crafting Butte 
County's medical marijuana cultivation ordinance.

The ordinance, which applies only to land outside city limits, among 
other things limits the number of plants that can be grown on a given 
parcel based on the size of the property. On a lot of 0.5-acre or 
less, no plants can be grown in the open, but they can be grown 
inside a free-standing building of less than 120 square feet.

At the other end of the lot-size spectrum, a parcel larger than 40 
acres can have a maximum of 99 plants.

The ordinance also requires setbacks from lot lines. Also, gardens 
are prohibited if they are located within 1,000 feet of a school, 
church, school bus stop or other "youth-oriented facility."

The grower has to have been a resident of Butte County for at least a 
year, and if the garden is on rented property, the grower has to have 
a notarized letter from the landlord granting permission to grow and 
harvest marijuana on the land.

In recent weeks, there have been numerous raids on marijuana gardens 
by teams from the Butte County Sheriff's Office. Those raids have 
netted as many as 7,000 plants in a single garden and many have 
happened on national forest property.

"In the national forest, that is (Mexican) cartel stuff," said 
Merkel. "A legitimate marijuana grower would not have 1,000, 2,000, 
3,000 plants."

He said he doesn't want to see the medicinal growers, who are trying 
to comply with the county rules, to be viewed in the same light as 
the multi-thousand-plant gardens.

Merkel said the people he is advocating for "are just trying to grow 
their medicine."
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