Pubdate: Sun, 01 Nov 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

KEEP REFINING COUNTY'S MARIJUANA GROWING LAWS

It's been almost two decades since California voters decided 
marijuana should be legal for people with legitimate medical needs - 
and after all that time, there's still disagreement about exactly 
what that means.

This much is certain: The laws governing the use of marijuana need 
constant fine-tuning.

It's not as simple as most drugs. For example, cocaine is illegal. 
Period. Marijuana? Well, it depends. It depends on where you live, 
how much you have, whether you're part of a co-op, and a hundred 
other variables.

That is why there's so much tinkering with the laws. That 
inconsistency is maddening for people on all sides, but it's 
necessary. Until pot is legal, there are many shades of gray.

That's why it is necessary for Butte County supervisors to continue 
to refine medical marijuana growing restrictions passed 
overwhelmingly by voters. The supervisors heard a Measure A report 
from county staff this week as the harvest season winds down. The 
report demonstrated that the new restrictions made code enforcement 
officers very busy, but the measure worked.

There were fewer conflicts between growers and neighbors, and fewer 
instances of garden thefts and armed confrontations. With firm rules 
in place, code enforcement officers had an easier time getting 
growers to comply with the law.

There were nearly 1,500 cases investigated countywide this growing 
season. More than half of those aren't in violation of the ordinance 
anymore, usually because the grower removed plants to come into 
compliance with the restrictions.

As of last week, there were 334 citations issued and an additional 
181 cases were under review, so the ordinance worked. It's not 
perfect, though, as you would expect from any first-year effort. 
County Administrative Officer Paul Hahn said the first year was a 
learning process, and county officials would like to recommend 
changes for next year's enforcement.

A couple of hazy developments are on the horizon. First, Gov. Jerry 
Brown signed new medical marijuana regulations in October but, like 
Proposition 215 itself, it might take awhile to figure out the 
ramifications of the new laws.

Second, there's a good chance that a year from now, California will 
vote on the legalization of marijuana, potentially following in the 
footsteps of Colorado, Alaska, Oregon and Washington.

That's a year away, however, and it's far from certain it will pass. 
Meantime, county supervisors should continue to refine the laws 
regulating an issue that isn't going away.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom