IN CALIFORNIA COUNTY, POT IS NO. 1 CASH CROP AND AN EX-CON IS DA

UKIAH, California (AP) -- The rule of law seems to have a weak hold on this
county of spectacular forests, canyons, rocky coastal cliffs and some of
the finest marijuana in the world.

In Mendocino County, pot is the biggest cash crop and the new district
attorney is an ex-con.

"People tell me one of two things," said District Attorney-elect Norman
Vroman. "It's either, `I wish I had the guts to do what you did against the
IRS,' or it's `How in world do you believe you can be the top prosecutor if
you've served time in federal prison?'"

Vroman, a lawyer, served nine months behind bars in the early 1990s for
failing to pay several thousand dollars in income taxes.

Last week, Vroman, running on a platform that included decriminalization of
marijuana, defeated a three-term incumbent who was president-elect of the
California District Attorney Association.

This rugged county of 87,000 people 100 miles north of San Francisco also
elected a new sheriff, Tony Craver, who also backs decriminalization.

In Vroman's case, voters were displeased with the incumbent's handling of a
big murder case in which a sheriff's deputy searching for a suspect was
shot to death. The defendant was acquitted, and Vroman was quoted as saying
he won't retry the case.

Rebel Territory

But the folksy and engaging Vroman also was seen admiringly as a rebel. And
Craver has a blunt, genial manner that went over well with people and was
seen as having deeper roots in the county than the previous sheriff, who
spent a decade in Los Angeles County.

The two men's stance on marijuana figured in both campaigns in this county
of mountain folk, ex-hippies, yuppies and refugees from big cities.

"It was a hot issue. Up until now, there has been a `Don't ask, don't tell'
policy. They have not harassed us, but on the other hand, they have not
cooperated with us," said Marvin Lehrman, who runs a 200-member medical
marijuana club. "Vroman's slogan was `It's time for a change,' and that's
what we want."

A lanky, mustachioed, by-the-book sheriff's officer, the 61-year-old Craver
has busted drug dealers and growers for years in an area where the famously
potent marijuana retails for $5,000 a pound.

But he also believes marijuana use should be decriminalized.
Decriminalization could reduce marijuana use from a misdemeanor under state
law, which can bring a jail term, to the equivalent of a traffic offense,
which normally carries only a fine.

Commercial growers and traffickers should be prosecuted, but "if you light
up a joint in your home, who are you hurting?" Craver said.

Duty Calls

However, both he and Vroman said their personal views on marijuana use will
not affect their official duties.

"It's illegal. If he arrests them, I'll prosecute them," Vroman said.

Mendocino County has produced more marijuana since 1995 than any of
California's 57 other counties.

Last year, state and local agents in helicopters and ground squads raided
340 pot plantations in Mendocino County and seized $204 million worth of
weed. Authorities believe that for every plant they find, perhaps 10 more
are out there.

The county's isolated hollows are ideal for secret pot gardens that yield
marijuana highly prized by aficionados.

"It's considered about the best in the world, if not the best. It's about
10 to 25 times more potent than the marijuana of the 1960s," said state
Justice Department spokesman Mike Van Winkle.

Suspicious People

Vroman, who said he moved to Mendocino County in 1975 to escape the
pressures of Southern California, has worked as a prosecutor, a fill-in
judge, a defense attorney and a public defender. In fact, the last three
district attorneys in Mendocino County had also been public defenders.

"I don't know whether it's because people are suspicious of authority, but
I think a lot of it has to do with people not wanting the DA to be tough on
lightweight crimes. They don't like wasting money," said retiree George
McClure of Ukiah.