Pubdate: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 Source: Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA) Copyright: 2014 The Press-Enterprise Company Contact: http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/letters_form.html Website: http://www.pe.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/830 PENALIZING POT PRODUCERS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE For several months, Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries has developed an ordinance that would impose criminal penalties for growing marijuana in the unincorporated areas of the county. While Mr. Jeffries and Supervisor Jeff Stone work to revise the ordinance to create exemptions for medical marijuana card holders, one has to wonder if such an ordinance is necessary at all. According to a document outlining the purpose and rationale of the ordinance, "the cultivation of marijuana is currently not a permitted use in any one classification in the county. Section 3.3 of Ordinance No. 348 provides that when a use is not specifically listed as permitted or conditionally permitted in a zone classification, the use is prohibited." In other words, it is already against the rules to grow marijuana, in addition to the federal prohibition on the drug. Yet, the document goes on to note that in Mr. Jeffries' district alone, "hundreds of marijuana groves have been observed." As a result, Mr. Jeffries argues that "cultivation of marijuana should be expressly prohibited in the county's zoning ordinance." Mr. Jeffries is proposing the prohibition of "large-scale marijuana groves," defined as 12 or more plants, with violations being subject to a misdemeanor, a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. Individuals with seven to 11 plants would be subject to a $200 fine and individuals caught with six or fewer plants would be subject to a $10 fine. The Press-Enterprise reports that Mr. Jeffries is concerned with some marijuana growing operations being tied to Mexican drug cartels. If Mr. Jeffries is concerned with combating Mexican drug cartels and keeping them out of the county, these sets of prohibitions aren't going to do it. Prohibition at the federal level creates significant incentives for criminal enterprises to grow and sell marijuana, because millions of people throughout the country want it. The federal government has tried for over four decades to stop people from ingesting marijuana and has failed miserably to the point where federal marijuana prohibitions are taken seriously by fewer and fewer people. Imposing a $10 fine, or even threatening a misdemeanor, hardly seems like it would do more than waste the time of whatever law enforcement officer has to carry out that citation. In July, Mr. Jeffries stated, "I do not want public safety resources spent going after a handful of plants." That sounds reasonable, yet, either this ordinance will do just that or will create another low-priority, rarely enforced county ordinance. It is certainly a decent idea for the supervisors to consider creating an exemption for medical marijuana users, but the board might as well authorize and permit the opening of medical marijuana dispensaries in the county if they're going to create such exemptions. All things considered, there does not seem to be any compelling reason for the county to move forward with this prohibition at all. If combating Mexican drug cartels is the goal, this ordinance won't do anything. If stopping people from growing marijuana is the goal, it seems redundant to add an additional prohibition against it. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom