Source: The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA) Pubdate: Wed, 10 June 1998 Contact: http://www.pressdemo.com/ MENDOCINO SHIFTS STANCE ON POT GRANT UKIAH - Bowing to state pressure, Mendocino County supervisors voted Tuesday to drop controversial wording from an application in order to get the county's yearly $250,000 grant for anti-pot efforts. On a 3-2 vote, the board deleted language calling marijuana eradication "not a reasonable and attainable goal" and "not a wise use of public funds" in favor of a sentence characterizing it as necessary for "the safety of the public." State drug officials requested the wording be changed, saying the county's application needed to reflect the goals of the program, set by federal legislation. Supervisor Richard Shoemaker, who authored the offending language and served as the board's swing vote, said he succeeded in sending state officials a message. He said he believed the original statement was true. However, it's in the county's best interests to back down from the state challenge and ensure the funding comes through, he added. "I guess my last comment on the motion is it may be ugly. You may think it's pathetic," Shoemaker said. "All I can say is there is some progress being made on this." As with the board's first approval, Supervisors Charles Peterson and John Pinches dissented. The board's May debate on the issue lasted more than four hours and concluded after one supervisor broke down in tears. Nearly everyone in Mendocino County has been touched by some side of the pot trade or efforts to eliminate it, they said. The grant is funded by the federal Marijuana Suppression Program and is administered by the state. This is the second year of a three-year program. In both years, Mendocino County pursued the grant after 3-2 votes. Throughout Mendocino, Lake and Humboldt counties, public officials have questioned the federal government's drug-fighting priorities and suggested pouring the money instead into combating hard drugs. In a letter to state Sen. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, Lake County supervisors asked that the law be changed to give local officials more flexibility in how to use the money. They said they doubt the effectiveness of the marijuana eradication program. "It is the feeling of this board that the most serious problem in our county is the manufacture, sale and use of hard drugs (methamphetamines, etc.) and that the funds currently dedicated to the marijuana eradication program would be much better spent in attempting to control these hard drugs," the letter said. - --- Checked-by: (trikydik)