YES ON B

MENDOCINO MARIJUANA RULES HAVE TOO MANY BAD SIDE EFFECTS

Mendocino County voters launched a bold, some would say radical,
experiment eight years ago when they approved an initiative that
allows people to grow marijuana for recreational use.

The law authorizes possession of 25 mature plants -- enough to produce
about $75,000 worth of high-grade marijuana. The initiative also said
enforcement of marijuana laws should be the lowest priority for the
sheriff and district attorney, within the 25-plant limit.

Some counties -- Sonoma among them -- allow more plants. San Francisco
and Berkeley long ago made enforcing marijuana laws a low priority for
police and prosecutors.

What sets Mendocino County apart from the rest of the state is that
its law isn't limited to growing marijuana for medicinal use. The
first sentence celebrates recreational use.

That distinction is a primary cause for many of the issues that led to
Measure B, a proposal on the June 3 ballot that would repeal the
Mendocino County law and adopt the state's medical marijuana rules in
its place. We support Measure B.

Supporters such as Willits Councilwoman Karen Oslund describe homes
"taking on the look of fortresses, with tall fences and intimidating
dogs" to protect valuable crops. Others say the skunk-like odor of
maturing plants has become pervasive in the late summer and fall.

Mendocino County already was a magnet for large-scale marijuana
growers when the law was passed in 2000, and the attraction has only
grown. Few question assertions that pot is the county's leading crop,
producing a bounty estimated at $500 million to $1.5 billion a year.

Opponents say Measure B is misdirected. They blame large-scale
commercial growers for the problems and say they won't be stopped by
Measure B. Perhaps not, but that's hardly an argument for encouraging
backyard growers to get in on the action.

Opponents also warn that medicinal users growing more than six plants
would be subject to arrest if Measure B passes.

Measure B doesn't restrict medicinal use of marijuana. The state rules
that would be implemented leave room for cities and counties to
accommodate medicinal users.

Eight counties already allow medicinal users and their caregivers to
grow more than six plants. Sonoma County, for example, allows 30 and
hasn't experienced problems on the same scale as Mendocino County.

One reason for that is tighter regulation in Sonoma County. The city
of Ukiah also adopted its own rules, banning marijuana gardens from
residential areas and requiring that plants be grown indoors.

If Measure B passes, Mendocino County supervisors would have the same
ability to craft local rules benefitting medicinal marijuana users and
their neighbors.

The Press Democrat recommends a yes vote on Measure B.