SHASTA LAKE REVISITS POT CULTIVATION

SHASTA LAKE -- A plan that would establish strict guidelines for
cultivation of medical marijuana within city limits may be adopted
Thursday by the Shasta Lake Planning Commission.

Although the marijuana cultivation rules are still a work in progress
and could be modified by commissioners, as well as the City Council,
outdoor marijuana gardens would be allowed under the latest version of
the plan.

An earlier draft prohibited outdoor cultivation of medical pot, but
the updated version would allow those living on a parcel less than a
half-acre to have a maximum 25-foot-square marijuana garden.

Those with half-acre to 1-acre parcels would be allowed a maximum
60-square-foot garden, while a 240-square-foot garden would be
permitted on parcels bigger than an acre.

Commission Chairwoman Cherrel Kirkland said the draft plan, which
could require marijuana growers to obtain an administrative or other
such permit, is still subject to major revision.

"We haven't made any decisions" on which way to go, she said. "It's
been a bantering of thoughts back and forth" since commissioners were
charged by the City Council in January to establish marijuana
cultivation guidelines.

Jamie Kerr, who last year cofounded the Collective 530 business on
Locust Avenue and who has closely watched the development of Shasta
Lake's marijuana cultivation regulations, believes they are too
restrictive.

And she is contesting several of its provisions, including one that
would require an administrative permit for those wishing to grow
marijuana, saying that condition is an invasion of privacy.

"Many of our patients don't want their (medical marijuana) status
known," she said.

The permit requirement forces those patients to choose between their
right of privacy and their desire to cultivate marijuana, she said.

But those with outdoor gardens, as well as those who grow medical
marijuana indoors, could also see their plants uprooted if those
gardens create a public nuisance, such as from strong and offensive
odors.

A public nuisance also could be established if, for example, sheriff's
deputies are called to a property more than three times a year.

The backyards also would need to be enclosed by a 6-foot-high solid
fence and equipped with a gate that locks, and outdoor gardens would
be prohibited on any parcel within 500 feet of a school, day care
center, day care home, recreation center, youth center, library or a
public park.

Under the draft plan, marijuana cultivation would be allowed in a home
or in an accessory building, but a number of conditions and
regulations would still apply.

For example, the cultivation area could not exceed 100 square
feet.

In addition, cultivation lighting could not be more than 1,200 watts,
and gas products, such as carbon dioxide and butane, could not be used
in the marijuana's cultivation or processing.

Furthermore, a home's kitchen, bathrooms and its primary bedrooms
could not be used primarily for medical marijuana cultivation, and the
cultivation areas would have to comply with California Building Code
requirements.

Even though California voters may decide next month to legalize
recreational use of marijuana, cities and counties would retain the
power to regulate it.

Marijuana possession and cultivation would remain a federal offense,
and U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder announced Friday that the
Department of Justice intends to aggressively prosecute marijuana laws
in California even if state voters approve Proposition 19 next month.