MEDICAL POT'S SIDE EFFECTS

Unhappy Neighbors Cite Gunshots, Threats As Grove of Plants Tops 8
Feet and Odors Circulate

Jeremy Gardea of Santa Rosa says he has nothing against people who
use marijuana for medical reasons.

But after another fall harvest season in which his neighbor's
marijuana plants grew well above the 8-foot fence that separates
their Hull Street homes, the plumber and father of three's compassion
finally went up in smoke.

More than a feud between two neighbors, the conflict represents a
dramatic showdown over the right of one homeowner under California
law to grow marijuana versus the rights of other residents to not
have their quality of life or safety threatened by that activity.

Gardea and about 30 neighbors who echo his complaints say Alan
MacFarlane's annual marijuana crop creates an unholy stench in the
neighborhood off West Third Street near Dutton Avenue, causes noise
disturbances related to motion alarms and raises the risk of criminal activity.

That risk is underscored by the number of home-invasion robberies
tied to marijuana gardens, including one this month in which three
robbers wearing clothing to impersonate law enforcement officials
burst into a Todd Road home, handcuffed two residents and fled with
30 marijuana plants.

Gardea said reading about that case was one reason he decided to
erect a sign outside his home stating, "Please don't pull a home
invasion here. Indoor buds are next door at #116. See Alan."

"When your kids are getting a contact high and you read about home
invasions in the city," Gardea said, "hell yeah, I'll put that sign
up if it's going to protect my kids."

Another sign, posted on 10-foot poles, pleads with MacFarlane to
"stop destroying the integrity of our neighborhood and our children's
safety. No more weed." Still another sign refers to MacFarlane as a
"pot dealer."

Standing on a front porch enclosed by lattice work and a sign warning
about the watchdog, MacFarlane said this week that he merely grows
"medicine" for his private use and several "patients," and that
Gardea has a vendetta against him.

"He's concerned about an invasion and crime? He's inviting it. Does
he care about his neighbors? I don't think so," MacFarlane said as
the smell of marijuana smoke wafted from his open front door.

Some neighbors agree with him.

"I have nothing against Alan. He's helpful and respectful," said
Sarah Desmond, whose home of 18 years is across the street from
MacFarlane's. "I'm really angry about those signs that went up.
They're jeopardizing the whole neighborhood."

MacFarlane, a former combat law enforcement specialist in the Air
Force, is a known figure locally, having been acquitted in Sonoma
County's first medical marijuana case to go to a jury in 2001. He
said he has physician approval to use marijuana to deal with chronic
pain related to the removal of his cancerous thyroid 25 years ago.

The 2001 case exposed the confusion related to Prop. 215, the
landmark 1996 California legislation that allows marijuana use for
medical reasons. Jurors ultimately decided that the approximately 100
plants seized by drug agents at MacFarlane's home were not in
violation of that law.

Since then, the county Board of Supervisors and Sonoma County Police
Chiefs Association have amended the rules to allow those with a
physician's recommendation to possess up to 30 plants and 3 pounds of
marijuana. That's still well over state regulations, which allow for
12 plants and 8 ounces.

Each individual grower is also limited to keeping their crop within a
100 square foot radius. Video that Gardea shot of MacFarlane's back
yard at the height of this year's season showed some plants at least
8 feet tall and higher. The height apparently does not violate any regulations.

MacFarlane said he provides the space and equipment for himself and
up to four medical marijuana patients to grow their alloted amounts.
He said of 100 plants he planted this season, only 24 made it to harvest.

As for concerns that his plants are too high and attracting unwanted
attention, MacFarlane said: "The only thing that's medicine is the
flower. Ninety percent of what's there is not medicine."

Sheriff's Sgt. Chris Bertoli said MacFarlane's operation sounds like
a "co-op," which, unlike a dispensary, does not require a business
license to operate.

"If we were to go over there and serve a search warrant, and he
showed us recommendations for people growing there, we would probably
contact those people to confirm if everything was correct and
probably turn around and walk away and leave the operation intact,"
said Bertoli, who oversees the sheriff's narcotics division.

That's of little comfort to some neighbors who complain about the
heavy stench of marijuana wafting into their homes.

"I don't let my 11-year-old out in the back yard, especially during
the harvest season, because the smell of the plants fills our house,"
said Christi Corradi, an art teacher for at-risk youth whose Garden
Street back yard abuts MacFarlane's.

Her neighbor, Stan Carter, said he filed a sheriff's report in summer
2007 after he and his wife were awakened by the sound of a gunshot
and men running past their window. He said they later discovered a
trail of marijuana in their back yard leading from MacFarlane's property.

"I've got five grandchildren," Carter said. "I can't afford a loose
cannon in the neighborhood."

About 30 neighbors signed a certified letter given to MacFarlane
earlier this month in which they demand that he address the nuisances
allegedly created by growing marijuana, including the discharge of
firearms, verbal threats, smell of marijuana and the noise of motion
sensitive alarms.

Gardea, who led the petition drive, said he has tripped the alarms by
merely walking into his back yard. He also claims MacFarlane
confronted him with a shotgun, an allegation the disabled vet denies.

Gardea and other neighbors said they are planning to sue MacFarlane
in small claims court, an increasingly common tactic used in
neighborhood disputes. In May, a judge awarded 14 residents a
combined $106,000 in damages after they sued a Davis Street homeowner
for allowing drug dealing and prostitution at the home.

Allen Thomas, a West End Neighborhood Association activist who helped
lead that effort, is now assisting Gardea.

"We want to help because what affects that neighborhood has a
spillover effect in our neighborhood," Thomas said.

MacFarlane faces another potential problem related to the greenhouse
where he grows more marijuana.

Acting on a complaint filed in November 2004, county code enforcement
officers determined that the greenhouse was built without proper
permits, according to Ben Neuman, the county's code enforcement manager.

However, Neuman said any action, which could include MacFarlane
having to demolish the greenhouse at his own expense, should have
occurred three years ago, after authorities sent notice to MacFarlane
that he was in violation of the rules.

Neuman blamed the delay on the volume of building code violations
handled by the agency as well as priorities for handling them that
are set by county supervisors. The most pressing are substandard
housing complaints.

Neuman said MacFarlane's case could receive a higher priority now
that neighborhood concerns are known.

His office also received a complaint this month about Gardea's signs.
Neuman said whether they are allowed to remain will depend on whether
they are deemed free speech or fall under county regulations.

The sign in which would-be thieves are pointed to MacFarlane's house
may be an example of prohibited use, Neuman said. Merely expressing
an opinion about the merits of growing pot probably would not.

The signs have divided neighbors, with some viewing them as a
father's admirable stance and others who look at them as inviting more trouble.

"That's calling people to come over and vandalize our neighborhood,"
said Jesus Gonzalez, who lives across the street from Gardea. "That
makes it worse."

Bertoli, however, said signs probably aren't necessary to alert
would-be criminals to the presence of the pot.

"People know who's got backyard gardens because they talk, and when
plants get to be 10 feet tall, you can drive down the street and
smell it," he said.