POT GROWING POLICY CHANGES

In light of shifting rules governing the cultivation of marijuana for
medical use under California's Proposition 215, Sheriff Lorrac Craig
is working with other law enforcement officials to figure out what the
county's enforcement policies will be for the 2009 growing season. In
a status report to the Board of Supervisors last week, Sheriff Craig
said he believes the recent California Supreme Court ruling defining
"caregiver" under Proposition 215 will "really help us a lot to weed
out the others." The ruling issued at the end of November defines
"caregiver" as someone who actually provides for the housing, health
and safety of the patient and had that relationship before marijuana
became part of the treatment.

Someone just supplying marijuana does not meet the definition of
caregiver. The ruling concerned the conviction of a Santa Cruz County
medical marijuana grower charged with illegal cultivation who sought a
defense on the basis of being the caregiver for five medical marijuana
patients.

Craig said the state Supreme Court ruling "tries to narrow the field
on 215 providers as opposed to true caregivers." He said District
Attorney Mike Harper and he are talking about how they will handle
cases involving individuals claiming caregiver status and growing
marijuana for multiple 215 patients on their property. "If they don't
meet the caregiver definition, we'll be looking at them for sales, but
we still have to work out a strategy on how we'll proceed on those
cases.

A lot will depend on my manpower and that's still up in the air,"
Craig said. Supervisor Howard Freeman said Trinity County has been
operating with some growers who define themselves as caregivers every
year and he believes the state court ruling will allow law enforcement
"to truly ensure it's for patients and not for profit." Craig said the
growers he has talked to who are trying to stay within the rules agree
with the caregiver ruling. He said that with the caregiver aspect
resolved, the next issue will involve marijuana collectives and
cooperatives--things the county could zone against.

He noted that the City of Rocklin has a zoning ordinance against
marijuana dispensaries, collectives and co-ops, "and those are
strategies we need to look at for next year to prevent what we've had
this year." Supervisor Wendy Reiss asked if the county could also zone
for areas where those activities are permissible with a use permit and
payment of a fee. County Counsel Derek Cole said he believes the
county could define situations in which enforcement would not occur,
and that a use permit and fee are not out of the question. Sheriff
Craig said, "We're still looking at other counties and the direction
may be zoning; it may be a way to get around some of the vagueness of
Proposition 215." He said that is the direction Mendocino County has
taken and several other counties are also looking into that. Freeman
said that if a zone isn't created that allows medical marijuana
cultivation to occur, "you're just chasing people to the black
market." He added that he is aware of efforts by some to form a
medical cannabis growers association in Trinity County "to establish
good neighbor policies for cannabis growers and define the
responsibilities of being better neighbors.

I'm very interested in them establishing human, common decency
policies." Sheriff Craig said two groups have contacted him and both
are interested in setting up storefront dispensaries for medical
marijuana patients in Trinity County. He noted that the state attorney
general's opinion is that storefront dispensaries are illegal, but
that co-ops and collectives, if operated according to specific
standards, can fit into the scheme of things. Regarding local law
enforcement capabilities, the sheriff said the county is pretty much
on its own regarding the medical marijuana issue.

He said state and federal drug enforcement agencies can and do get
involved in ongoing investigations of certain cases, including one
that resulted in recent arrests in Trinity County. That case involves
charges of marijuana sales for profit in three states by exploiting
California's medical marijuana laws. Craig said the Department of
Justice developed that case "and they came to us. We can ask them to
help us, but there's no blanket, general assistance. With 215, we're
pretty much on our own and all of us in the North State are dealing
with the problem.

I can call Siskiyou or Shasta county for deputies, but in general,
nobody is saying they've got the resources to come in and help us."
Supervisor Jeff Morris said, "I think we need to not think we're on
our own. We don't have a lot of resources here, but there are a number
of agencies that will respond if we ask them to and can qualify it to
meet their requirements." He added that the public is another resource
"that's probably under-utilized. We can't emphasize enough the
importance of getting information from all the eyes and ears that are
out there." Craig said, "We're taking calls from the public all the
time."