OAKLAND CUTS NUMBER OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA PLANT ALLOWED PER GARDEN BY HALF,
FROM 144 TO 72

The City Council voted to cut in half the number of plants a medical
marijuana grower can cultivate, but it left the limit at a still sizable
garden.

The 6-0 vote cut the legal limit from its current 144 plants, set in 1998,
to 72 plants.

Medical marijuana advocates said the stricter limits mean about 20 percent
of local medical marijuana users will not be able to grow enough pot to
meet their needs.

"The reason we agreed is because we were forced to," Jeff Jones, executive
director of the Oakland of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative, told
the Oakland Tribune in Wednesday's editions.

With the changes, people who get a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana
for their illnesses can grow 20 plants outdoors or on up to 32 square feet
inside, enough for about 72 small plants or around 60 mature plants.

The Supreme Court ruled in May that there is no exception in federal law
for medical use of marijuana. California prosecutors have said it's up to
federal authorities to enforce the decision.