Pubdate: Wed, 12 Aug 2015 Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA) Copyright: 2015 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: Ryan Olson MEASURE A MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASES INCREASE 85 PERCENT IN SEVEN WEEKS Oroville - With about two months remaining in the typical outdoor marijuana growing season, Butte County officials reported a total of 949 cases involving Measure A regulations setting the size of growing areas. The figure reported Tuesday by development services director Tim Snellings is an 85 percent increase from his last report June 22. He said there have been twice as many cases this year than there were throughout 2014. There are currently 510 open cases, but about half are pending review. There are 142 cases considered active and 115 cases are at the citation stage. Snellings' report shows 131 cases are considered closed and seven were deemed unfounded. There are 296 sites in a monitored status after reaching compliance. This is the first year that the county has been enforcing Measure A, the voter-approved initiative that sets growing area dimensions in the unincorporated county based on parcel size. Parcels larger than a half-acre may have indoor or outdoor medical marijuana grows, ranging from 50 square feet for lots smaller than 5 acres to 150 square feet for properties larger than 10 acres. Properties that are a half-acre or smaller may have an indoor growing area of up to 120 square feet. The rules include additional conditions, including requiring that properties include an occupied residence and a permitted water source or connection. While several residents have voiced concerns about how officials are enforcing Measure A, three members of the public expressed support for the effort Tuesday. Chris Sommers, who has supported Measure A, thanked the supervisors for doing the right thing. He said residents have been able to seek action and his town feels like home again. "It feels like a safe town again," Sommers said. Last year, Lois Miller observed license plates from 46 different states. She said things are nearly back to normal. "I'm just here to give you a group hug from our neighbors," Miller said. Thomas Wall said it was good to get rid of out-of-state residents coming to grow in Butte County, but noted California voters approved Proposition 215 for legitimate reasons. He said his partner often travels out of the county to obtain needed medical marijuana. "Let's not forget there are people who grow medical cannabis for medical reasons," Wall said. Advertisement He expressed concern that things may get more serious toward the end of the growing season as many are armed. County Administrative Officer Paul Hahn noted the Butte County sheriff's special enforcement unit is investigating and busting larger grows that appear to be criminal enterprises. A 900-plant grow was eradicated Monday in Concow. Snellings said the number of Measure A cases is huge, but county staff has worked to respond. He noted that officials were preparing to do an enforcement sweep through an area soon, but didn't specify where. Through Monday, the county has issued $396,000 in fines for 279 citations. Only $51,400 has been paid. Snellings said the cases need to be heard by a hearing officer before the county could assess the fines. He said officials were looking at a process where 20 cases could be heard per day, but people were also focused on the last two months of the growing season. Oroville-area Supervisor Bill Connelly asked about a rumor that some growers were disregarding fines and ignoring compliance with Measure A until the end of the season. County Counsel Bruce Alpert said the rumor was based on nonsense. Growers who waited were taking a huge risk. Snellings said officials often follow up on an initial citation after about a week. If a property still isn't in compliance, the county could begin nuisance abatement during the third visit. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom