DECADE OF PROP. 215

It has been 10 years since the voters of California passed
Proposition 215, the Compassionate Care Act, that legalized the
growing and use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Since then, cities and counties have worked to manage this activity
with tactics ranging from control ordinances to outright bans.

"What they are trying to do is fit it to their communities," said
Dane Wilkins, executive director of the National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws

The growth and sale of marijuana has been a cause of friction,
especially in cities. In 2005, the Ukiah City Council passed an
ordinance that restricted the number of plants a patient could grow
within city limits to six adults or 12 juveniles.

It also required that plants be grown inside because of a skunk-like
odor that spread through the city during harvest season, prompting
complaints to both law enforcement and air quality officials.

Acting Air Pollution Compliance Officer Chris Brown said, since the
ordinance passed, there seems to have been a drop-off in reports
from within the city of Ukiah.

"There was maybe one, and it wasn't verified," Brown said.

Brown said Air Quality has received between 12 and 14 verified odor
complaints for marijuana in the county this year. This is opposed to
the 30 documented complaints brought to the council in October 2005,
when the ordinance was being discussed.

"It seems to have, if not solved the problem, pushed it indoors," Brown said.

"In retrospect it was a good thing, because it got folks thinking
about how to do it right." Wilkins said of the ordinance

The ordinance has worked to regulate marijuana growing in the city
and encouraged those who were growing excessive amounts to move on,
Wilkins said

While the ordinance may have had some positive effects, Wilkins said
forcing people to grow their marijuana inside can also be a hardship
on people who are already sick.

He said indoor gardens can be difficult to assemble and maintain
because they require chemicals and sunlamps to keep the plants alive.

Wilkins said he believes the ordinance has served its purpose and
that he would like to see it lapse.

According to medical marijuana advocates Americans for Safe Access,
there are approximately 200,000 Californians using medical marijuana
for treatment, served by an estimated 200 storefronts and countless
private gardens.

Besides the smell, there have also been concerns about crime that
growing marijuana may attract.

According to the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, an average plant
can produce up to one pound of processed marijuana, which can have a
street value of up to $4,000 in an already established market,
providing plenty of incentive for some to grow more marijuana than
they need and for others to rob medical gardens.

Such a theft occurred last week in Laytonville, when five Bay Area
men allegedly robbed a medical garden at gunpoint. Suspects were
later arrested by sheriff's deputies.

In March of this year, a different group of men attempted,
unsuccessfully, to rob a Laytonville cannabis club. Suspects were
arrested in that case as well.

However, things do not always end so well. In November of 2005,
Laytonville resident and owner of two medical marijuana
dispensaries, Les Crane, was shot and killed in his home and an
unknown quantity of marijuana taken. No one has been arrested in
connection with that case.

"All gardens are susceptible to thievery, which often leads to
violence," said MCSO Capt. Kurt Smallcomb at the time of the arrests.

Citing the potential criminal risk, six counties and 71 cities,
including Livermore, Antioch, Pinole, and Dublin, have placed
moratoriums on medical marijuana dispensaries.

In April of this year, the Ukiah City Council voted on its own
moratorium on new dispensaries, extending it until May 17, 2007. The
Willits City Council was considering a moratorium on Thursday.

However, it is San Diego County that has taken the most aggressive
step to control the distribution of medical marijuana, filing a
federal lawsuit against the state.

The suit stems from a 2003 amendment to Proposition 215 that
directed county public health departments to issue identification
cards to medical marijuana users. But, the real issue is whether or
not the state has passed a law that is in violation of federal law.

San Bernardino and Merced counties have joined the suit as
plaintiffs. A hearing is scheduled for November in San Diego Superior Court.

Wilkins said he isn't worried about the lawsuit because he expects
the counties to lose.

"I don't see medical marijuana going away," he said. "There is a big
battle going on."