Pubdate: Tue, 19 Nov 2013
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/submitletters
Website: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394
Author: Jason Hoppin

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BOARD FINALIZES POT SHOP RULES, TAKES UP CULTIVATION

SANTA CRUZ -- While formalizing new medical marijuana dispensary rules
long in development, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on
Tuesday signaled a quick pivot to another pressing issue: how those
shops get their pot.

To go into effect shortly after the new year, new dispensary rules
impact the approximately dozen shops in the county's unincorporated
area. They set limits on hours and location, require background checks
for management and eventually ban any new clubs from opening.

But a new controversy over growing medical pot has sparked debate on
the board and within the county's vibrant marijuana industry. While
strict rules are coming on growing pot in dense neighborhoods, the
board largely rejected limits the industry viewed as draconian.

"You can grow tomatoes in your backyard, but if you're growing so many
tomatoes that now you're a commercial operation, your backyard
probably isn't the appropriate place," Supervisor John Leopold said.
"You need to do it in a different area."

UPCOMING VOTE

Likely to be voted on Dec. 10, the cultivation rules would limit
personal medical marijuana grows to 100 square feet, while allowing up
to 3,000 square feet in rural areas, depending on the acreage of the
property.

The rules also would ban advertising of grow space and may require
fences for outdoor grows. But they will not limit the number of
plants, something Supervisor Zach Friend sought.

Those types of limits are vehemently opposed by growers, since even
seedlings, or anything with a root structure, are seen as plants by
authorities, including police and judges. Such rules would have
collapsed the local pot industry, they argued.

"I think they're making good progress and I appreciate that there's
been a lot of input from the community, and the Board of Supervisors
is being open-minded," said Bryce Berryessa of the Association of
Standardized Cannabis, a local trade group. "It'd be nice if they
could come up with something they could unanimously agree on, but the
fact that they got a 4-1 vote shows they're making progress."

IN DISSENT

The dissenter was Friend, who proposed a 25-plant limit that was
rejected by the board, 2-3, with Supervisor Greg Caput joining Friend.
Friend said he doesn't believe the Santa Cruz County's marijuana
supply is in jeopardy, and wanted to take a cautious approach.

"Quite frankly, what I don't want is for Santa Cruz County to be a net
importer of cultivators and dispensaries and a net exporter of
marijuana," Friend said, later adding: "These are not early girl
tomatoes that people are planting in their backyard."

Dr. Arnold Leff, a former county health officer and early advocate of
cannabis as medicine, spoke at the meeting and backed Leopold.

"If you use your current agricultural regulations, you can manage the
issue of residential grows, and I believe that the limits suggested
are somewhat conservative, but nevertheless I think we can support
Supervisor Leopold's approach to this," Leff said.

Jennifer Lawrence of Rio del Mar said a neighborhood pot grow was a
nuisance and decreased the quality of life, making her hesitant to
allow her daughter to play outside.

"The smells, the noise, sheriff patrols," Lawrence said. "We just
didn't know who was next door. When you move into a neighborhood, it's
really important to know your neighbors. You're a family, it's really
important to know who they are. Without the regulations, you don't."

The meeting was not without levity. A question from Caput about how to
grow marijuana led Leopold to talk about the differences between
flowering and nonflowering plants, and why plant counts matter.

"This is what I've learned," he said.
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