State's Rural Pot Growers Feel the Heat

Glen Martin, Chronicle Staff Writer

Law enforcement officials in rural areas of California are
stepping up efforts to deter medical marijuana distributors,
bringing felony charges against two north state medicinal
pot advocates this week.

The cases stand in stark contrast to the Bay Area, where
many police departments have tacitly ignored the production
and use of medical marijuana since the passage of
Proposition 215, the November initiative that legalized pot
for people with physicians' recommendations.

Last week, law enforcement officials from Mendocino and
Humboldt counties said they would continue to arrest
largescale pot cultivators. No special consideration would
be given to people claiming to grow pot for patients.

``Many of the cases involving substantial quantities of
reputed medical marijuana will have to be determined in
court on an individual basis,'' said Humboldt County Sheriff
Dennis Lewis.

One such case involves Jean Baker, the director of a
Humboldt County medical marijuana club. She went into hiding
Monday when a warrant was issued for her arrest after she
did not appear in court on marijuana cultivation charges.

In another incident, an Oroville man was arrested Sunday for
possessing less than two ounces of marijuana obtained from
the San Francisco Cannabis Cultivators Club. The man said he
was taking it to three Butte County residents whom he said
were too sick to travel.

Dennis Peron, an author of Proposition 215 and the director
of the San Francisco cannabis club, said he was demoralized
by the recent arrests.

``The proposition is the law of the land, but it is not
being followed (in the rural areas),'' Peron said. ``It's
far different from the situation in San Francisco.''

The Humboldt County case has attracted much local publicity.
Baker, 39, is the director of the Humboldt Cannabis Action
Network, a club that serves 25 people. She said county law
enforcement officials are attempting to punish her for
negotiating cultivation contracts with local growers.

Baker maintains that publicity over the contracts which
confirm intentions to buy marijuana at mutually agreeable
prices prompted prosecutors to use a monthsold incident
at an alleged pot farm as an excuse to file charges against
her.

Baker refused to appear in court Monday on charges of
marijuana cultivation. A $25,000 bench warrant was issued
for her arrest.

``The charges are phony,'' Baker said.

Officials insist that the contracts are illegal.

But Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Worth Dikeman
said the pot cultivation and storage charges were lodged
because law enforcement officials observed Baker in
September on a rural property that was later raided because
marijuana was allegedly grown there.

While Proposition 215 decriminalizes the cultivation of
marijuana by ill people and their primary caregivers, it is
not clear if it allows patients and caregivers to authorize
thirdparty growers to cultivate largescale plots.

But Humboldt County Sheriff Dennis Lewis said he has no
doubts.

``We've asked for clarification from the (California)
attorney general, but, in my opinion, these grower contracts
are illegal,'' Lewis said. ``As I understand Proposition
215, patients and caregivers can grow for personal use, but
there's no mention made of proxies growing large fields for
clinics or clubs.''

Matt Ross, a spokesman for Attorney General Dan Lungren,
said his office has left interpretation up to local
jurisdictions.

And many jurisdictions are not looking the other way. On
Sunday, Jeff Webb of Oroville was arrested when a California
Highway Patrol officer stopped him near the Yuba/Sutter
county line for a license plate violation and discovered
three small bags of pot with San Francisco cannabis club
seals.

``My wife and I are designated by the club as primary
caregivers, and we were delivering it to three patients,''
said Webb.

CHP captain Fred Stiesberg said Webb did not conform to the
legal definition of a primary caregiver.

``Just having a card and a sticker on the bag isn't
enough,'' he said. ``We define the term of `primary
caregiver' as someone who provides housing, care and safety
for the patient.''

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