Pubdate: Tue, 12 Jan 2016
Source: Manteca Bulletin (CA)
Copyright: 2016 Manteca Bulletin
Contact:  http://www.mantecabulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3670
Author: Dennis Wyatt

MANTECA SUPPLIES BAY AREA

90% of $15.6m of Pot Seized in 2015 Was Headed to Dispensaries

The lawn isn't well-kept - it's manicured.

The same goes for shrubs and flowers.

As far as the house itself, the outside is in pristine model condition.

What looks like a well-cared for McMansion in a Manteca or Lathrop 
neighborhood is sometimes a front for a burgeoning black market 
business - growing pot to supply Bay Area medicinal marijuana dispensaries.

"About 90 percent of the large grows (seized) last year in Manteca 
were for dispensaries," noted Manteca Police Sgt. Chris Mraz.

And it's a lucrative undertaking. With pot going at between $1,000 
and $3,000 a pound depending on the THC levels and its quality, 
splitting the difference at $2,000 a pound means the 7,800 pounds of 
marijuana Manteca Police seized in 2015 was worth a conservative $15.6 million.

It's conservative because growers supplying reputable dispensaries 
know their product is going to be put under the microscope by 
wholesale buyers for the co-ops looking for mites and testing for pesticides.

It's a nice money making proposition for the growers.

But for unsuspecting landlords and others it is an extremely 
expensive proposition.

Police Chief Nick Obligacion noted once you get past the 
picture-perfect yard and the house beautiful facade and step inside a 
different picture emerges: Additional walls have been built. Walls 
have been knocked out. There are holes punched into the ceiling. 
Wires accessing power that has been illegally and dangerously 
obtained by bypassing the meter dangle all over. And that's just for 
starters. "The humidity needed to grow the plants can lead to mold 
problems in walls and the attic," the chief said. "The carpets have 
to be all ripped out."

The damage is to every room of the house that has been reconfigured 
to grow plants save for the bathroom. That is where crop tenders usually sleep.

Obligacion said besides costing the landlord lost rent while the home 
is being repaired; in a number of cases the damage exceeds the coverage.

Add to that the huge amounts of stolen power that are absorbed as the 
cost of doing business by PG&E and passed on in power bills paid by 
law-abiding citizens.

"It (pot growing) isn't a victimless crime," the chief said.

Then there is the physically dangerous side. Mraz said nearly half of 
the grow operations Manteca Police bust yield a cache of weapons. In 
the past four years there have been three fatal shootings in Manteca 
tied into illegal marijuana activity including two during 2015.

It is against the backdrop of increased grow houses in Manteca to 
supply Bay Area medical pot clinics that the City Council last week 
moved to ban allowing pot growing within the city limits effective as 
of Feb. 18. Those with valid California medical marijuana laws have 
been allowed to have up to 12 mature marijuana plants providing they 
were contained with structures as required under municipal law.

The growing tide of illegal grows to supply the insatiable appetite 
of the medicinal marijuana dispensaries was blurring the line 
separating them from medicinal grows.

Also, the state had passed a law that as of March 1 would have given 
Sacramento the ability to control what went on in Manteca in terms of 
medicinal pot growing and delivery services if the City Council had not acted.

Medicinal pot grow enforcement has been by letter of the law

For the past five years Obligacion said that the department has 
enforced the spirit of the law and not the letter. That means if 
medical marijuana plant cardholders exceeded the limit by several 
plants or else they weren't being grown in a manner to avoid 
detection by others as outlined in the city rules, officers 
responding would give the individual time to correct the problem.

"We didn't seize plants," Obligacion said.

That only happened if on a follow up inspection the medical pot 
cardholder had not complied or if the operation in question blatantly 
exceeded the maximum number of plants allowed.

Two medical marijuana cardholders contacted by the Bulletin confirmed 
Ob lli ga cion's explanation of department policy. One of the two had 
plants stolen from a grow area in their backyard that didn't 100 
percent comply with the city rules. In both cases, the cardholders 
said they intend to comply with the change in the city ordinance and 
cease growing pot as of Feb. 18.

Obligacion said the department isn't going to go knocking on doors 
Feb. 19 to see if people are complying.

"There is no medical pot database for grows," the chief said.

Police will find out about any medical marijuana grow after Feb. 18 
the same way they do now - by neighbors complaining about smell and such.

Some charge that Manteca Police are heavy handed toward recreational 
users of pot that is still illegal in California but is only an 
infraction if the amount in a person's possession an ounce/28.5 grams 
or less and not a misdemeanor. Manteca issued

51 citations in 2015 for pot possession During 2015, Manteca issued 
51 citations for such infractions. Eleven of those where citations 
for possessing it in a vehicle which is a misdemeanor as opposed to 
an infraction for simple possession.

California has already essentially decriminalized small-time use of 
marijuana. The penalties for possessing it depend on age and the 
amount of marijuana that you have.

Anyone under 21 convicted of possessing any amount of marijuana loses 
their drivers' license for 12 months even if they are not convicted 
of driving under the influence.

An adult with less than 28.5 grams or an ounce are treated as 
committing an infraction with a fine up to $100 and will not receive 
a criminal conviction. However, anyone who possesses less than that 
amount with the intent to sell can face felony charges.

Anyone 18 or older with an ounce or less on school grounds will face 
misdemeanor charges and fines up to $500. They can serve up to 10 days in jail.

Possession of an ounce of marijuana in a vehicle is different than a 
simple possession. It is charged as a misdemeanor, you will have a 
criminal record and you can be fined up to $100.

Having more than 28.5 grams but less than 100 grams is a misdemeanor 
with possible jail time up to six months and a fine of up to $500.
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