Pubdate: Wed, 18 Mar 2015
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Fresno Bee
Contact:  http://www.fresnobee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/161
Note: Does not publish letters from outside their circulation area.
Author: Marc Benjamin

FRESNO COUNTY SUPERVISORS DENY MEDICAL MARIJUANA APPEALS, ISSUE FINES 
TOTALING $477,000

Fresno County supervisors held an abbreviated version of their 
medical marijuana appeals hearings Tuesday morning, but they are 
still getting push back from advocates and lawyers about the county's 
enforcement.

Cases heard Tuesday were holdovers from last year and took about two 
hours. Last year's hearings lasted five to six hours on average, 
which led to a renewed call to have a hearing officer oversee the 
ordinance violations, a route that a majority of supervisors seem 
willing to follow. Supervisors denied appeals Tuesday, resulting in 
$477,000 in fines.

Gabino Zambrano was fined $95,000 because a renter was growing 95 
plants on his property. Zambrano, a trucker, said he didn't know his 
renter was growing marijuana even though the renter had built a 
growing area behind the house. Zambrano said he wouldn't go into the 
house and the growing area was out of view behind a wall from the 
street, which sheriff's officials confirmed. His renter, Soprath 
Prak, also was fined $95,000, but Zambrano's lawyer said the county 
will come after Zambrano because his tenant has no money.

Ana Maria Morales, a Fresno County property owner who lives in Kern 
County, was fined $6,700, 10% of a $67,000 violation, because her 
father was planting medical marijuana on her property. Luciano 
Morales must pay the remainder of the fine. A citation was issued 
against Ana Maria Morales two months after her father was cited.

There was no evidence that Ana Maria Morales used or contributed to 
the violations, said Michael Green, a Fresno medical marijuana advocate.

Ana Maria Morales said her father had a doctor's recommendation to 
grow marijuana plants. She also said she had a high-risk pregnancy 
last year and had no knowledge of her father's plants.

A third couple, also notified two months after marijuana was removed 
from property they rented out, avoided fines altogether.

"It's so arbitrary," said lawyer Robert Wynne, who intends to take 
legal action against the county on behalf of Zambrano. "Our point 
will be a due process and equal protection violation. You are 
treating people differently in the same situation."

Zambrano's tenant, Prak, also said he had a doctor's recommendation 
to grow and wasn't aware of the county's medical marijuana ordinance. 
Prak said he uses it for cooking, smoking or putting in baths.

Prak's plants were removed immediately without a determination of 
danger to public health, Wynne said following the hearing.

Zambrano said he collects rent from another tenant who lives at a 
home in the front of the property.

Under the county's ordinance, medical marijuana is a danger to public 
health and safety and deputies can pull plants out and fine the 
grower and property owners, said Dan Cederborg, the county's counsel. 
There are about a dozen lawsuits filed against the county for 
carrying out the ordinance, which has been enforced for 13 months.

Carl Hager was at risk of a $228,000 fine but was able to avoid it 
after he told supervisors he received a notice in the mail in 
October, two months after the plants were pulled. He said he didn't 
know marijuana was grown on his property. Sheriff's deputies said the 
plants were small when they were pulled in August and could have been 
planted only a month earlier. The day after getting the notice, Hager 
evicted his tenant, who was fined last year for the plants.

Following the hearing, Hager said he worried about the similarities 
of his case to Morales'. She was ordered to pay 10% of the fine. He 
told supervisors that he and his wife would have to sacrifice their 
daughter's college education if he had to pay 10% of the $228,000 fine.

"I don't think it's a good ordinance," he said. "You fine the people 
growing it and send an abatement ordinance to the landlord. I'm sorry 
I rented to him to begin with."

Fresno County sheriff's Sgt. Homer Montalvo said there is a decline 
in Fresno County marijuana gardens and that people are moving to 
other counties to cultivate.

"I think the time is coming where we won't have as many cases," said 
Supervisor Henry R. Perea.

He said he would favor eliminating fines if marijuana plants were 
removed the same day deputies find them and under sheriff's office supervision.

Perea also said he supports a hearing officer for medical marijuana 
appeals, possibly hiring a retired judge and alternate to fill the post.

Supervisor Andreas Borgeas said he also wants supervisors to consider 
hiring a hearing officer.

New supervisor Buddy Mendes, who observed marijuana appeals hearings 
last year and went through his first one as a supervisor on Tuesday, 
observed that "it's like going to the dentist. I'm just kind of 
wondering if there's a better venue to hear these."

He said he is willing to examine alternatives because there probably 
are better ways for supervisors to spend their time.

"There was a desire to see how the process works before saying this 
isn't working," Mendes said.

The other new supervisor, Brian Pacheco, said that based on Tuesday's 
hearings, he's not ready to hire a hearing officer.

While he admits there is room for improvement in the process, he said 
the board should be required to see "the true ramifications" of laws 
they approve.

"Whenever you have a new ordinance there is going to be a learning 
curve," he said. "The ordinance does seem to be working because grows 
are leaving the county, which was the intent of the ordinance."

Board Chairwoman Debbie Poochigian also has supported leaving 
supervisors in charge of medical marijuana appeals.

Brenda Linder, a Fresno lawyer who has filed many of the cases 
opposing the county medical marijuana ordinance, said a hearing 
officer would be a more objective way to handle ordinance issues.

"This is a farce," she told supervisors Tuesday. "By the way you 
drafted it, you direct staff how to collect it and county counsel 
advises you on it, which also advised and drafted this. You are not a 
neutral, fair hearing officer when you're directing people to be 
cited for more (money) during these appeals."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom