MENDOCINO VOTES ON GROWTH INDUSTRY Though Largely Symbolic, Measure G Would 'legalize' Small Marijuana Farms Fall is harvest time in Mendocino County, with the cash-flush marijuana crop breathing new life into the depressed local economy. And this particular fall, this pot smoker's haven is poised to become the first jurisdiction in the nation to attempt to "legalize" the leafy plant. Voters in this rural North Coast county, driven by the free spirits in their midst, are likely to approve an initiative on Nov. 7 that declares that growing pot for recreational use should be decriminalized -- although, if passed, Measure G will be pre-empted by state and federal law. But the initiative has inflamed the passions of residents. "I'm not part of that culture at all, but personally I think it's absurd that marijuana is not legal," said Aria Walker, who manages a Willits gift shop. "It's a benign substance. I think it's just as much a basic right as a having a drink or a cigarette. We should be able to pick our poison." Since the 1960s, marijuana has been woven into Mendocino County's social fabric. Cannabis has won broad acceptance along the North Coast, where some free spirits revere it as a drug of choice, while the less liberal simply tolerate it. Ministers, educators and others still rail about the illegal weed, but there is plenty of sympathy here -- not only for pot users, but also for pot growers in the Emerald Triangle, which includes Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties. Measure G seeks to forbid local sheriff's deputies from arresting anyone with 25 or fewer "adult flowering female marijuana plants or the equivalent in dried marijuana." Once the potent buds are cut and dried, 25 such plants can fetch $100,000 for a mom-and-pop marijuana growing operation. The Green Party-sponsored ballot measure also seeks to compel the local sheriff and district attorney to make enforcement of marijuana laws their lowest priority. Mendocino County, one of the poorest counties in the state, has suffered from high unemployment with the closing of sawmills in recent decades. And the yearly marijuana crop is worth tens of millions of dollars. "It's worth more than gold," said Bridget Barefield, a shop owner in the roadside hamlet of Laytonville. "If they taxed marijuana, the county wouldn't be as poor." On the black market, the high-quality sensimilla bud sells for $3,600 to $4,000 a pound -- bringing a higher yield than any legal crop. But commercial pot production is hard work -- a risky, nerve-racking ordeal for growers who are paid once a year at harvest time. Growers often plant their pot gardens in federal and state wilderness areas or on someone else's ranchland -- making sure to shield their plants from aerial surveillance. Some growers begin their seedlings in barns and warehouses, then tend -- and guard -- their mature crops in remote, mountainous areas. They disguise their illicit profits on the books of legitimate businesses. "It's a practical, everyday thing for a lot of families here," said Allen Schrage, who sells recreational vehicles in Willits. "There isn't much money in this area. A lot of people lost their jobs in the logging industry. They've got to put food on the table." Schrage dismissed the potential hazards of pot smoking. "Eighty percent of the people in this town probably smoke pot," he said. "You never see a pothead go hurt somebody. They're mellow. . . . The most they're going to hurt is the refrigerator." Michael Delbar, a Mendocino County supervisor, vehemently disagrees. "They claim it's an innocent drug, that no one gets hurt. But it's not an innocent drug," he said. Delbar pointed out that Richard Allen Davis said he was high on marijuana when he murdered 13- year-old Polly Klaas. The supervisor also cited studies indicating that marijuana use adversely affects learning and can be a gateway to other drugs. He worries that passage of Measure G would stigmatize the county, which is trying to promote economic growth and create local jobs by enticing businesses to move here. "We have a lot more to offer -- other than marijuana," he said. Marianne, a clerk at a Willits gym, agreed. "I don't think it should be legal, except for medicinal use," said the woman, who withheld her last name. "I've seen so much harm in town from all kinds of drugs, not just marijuana. I guess I'm turning into a prude. I don't want marijuana, alcohol or tobacco." David Patterson, who sells arts and crafts in Laytonville, said he supports Measure G because pot "is and should be a very low priority. They should spend their narcotics money on the nasty stuff like heroin and crank (methamphetamine)." Still, he doubts that Measure G will change the status quo. "I don't think the growers here will support it because it would probably lower their prices," he said with a wry chuckle. "Already, the cops don't do much about it, unless you're selling it from your house. I've never heard of anyone going to prison here." Two deputies are assigned to the county's marijuana task force, a team that is clearly overwhelmed by its mission to destroy major pot patches. "They don't have time to go after mom-and-pop gardens," said Sheriff Tony Craver. "As a matter of necessity, we focus on large commercial growers." The county has led the state in the last two years for the number of marijuana plants eradicated. Aided by state drug officers, the task force has raided 269 pot patches and seized 81,888 plants. That's 30,000 pounds, with a street value of some $5 million -- but only a fraction of the total harvest. Nineteen suspected growers have been arrested this year, and 22 firearms have been seized. Deputies said they buried the pot plants in a landfill at an undisclosed location. Craver is critical of the nation's war on drugs, as is District Attorney Norman Vroman, but both men give Measure G a thumbs-down. "The amount of time we have to spend on marijuana is disproportionate to the problem it is," Vroman said -- but, he added, Measure G will sow confusion. The ballot measure, he said, is "constitutionally defective and unenforceable." "The people of Mendocino County are being asked to vote on something that is nothing more than symbolic," said Craver. "The greatest impact that we'll experience from Measure G is the misperception that the public will have that it will be legal for them to grow marijuana. It won't be. State law will prevail." E-mail Jim Doyle at: jdoyle@sfchronicle.com
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