COPS, MEDICAL MJ GROWERS COOPERATING

The medical marijuana community and the Mendocino County Sheriff's
Office appear to be not only mending fences but collaborating, as
county finances tighten and marijuana continues to inch toward
legalization.

Sgt. Randy Johnson is in charge of processing applications from
growers who want to grow up to 99 marijuana plants, which requires a
permit from the Sheriff's Office for an exemption to the county's
25-plant-per-parcel rule under its cultivation ordinance, codified as
Chapter 9.31 of the county code.

"What I knew about marijuana before I started in this program, chop it
down, put it in a bag, take the marijuana to the evidence locker, take
the people to jail," Johnson said. "Not a day goes by that I'm not
talking to a third-party (inspector), a farmer, or coming up with some
information about this program."

After Johnson's initial inspection, the garden is checked for
compliance throughout the growing season, either by the Sheriff's
Office or by a third-party inspector.

The exemption program was just added to the code this year for
cooperatives that want to grow up to 99 plants and meet a list of
requirements, including association with a patient or group of
patients with valid doctors' recommendations to use marijuana, and the
purchase of zip ties from the Sheriff's Office for each plant to
identify them as meeting legal parameters.

The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday raised the permit
fee for such cooperatives from $1,050 to $1,500, and doubled zip-tie
fees to $50 each.

Zip ties still cost $25 for anyone with a medical recommendation who
wants to grow 25 plants or fewer, according to Mendocino County
Sheriff Tom Allman, and are a different color than the ones issued for
the exemption for larger gardens.

Faced with the prospect of losing seven of his sworn staff to budget
cuts, Allman touted the fee hikes and an expected increase in demand
for the permits as a way to save those jobs, during a Tuesday
discussion with the Board of Supervisors.

County officials weren't as optimistic.

County CEO Carmel Angelo said Allman has an $800,000 budget gap to
close before the program revenue can be used to make up for an
estimated $303,000 of savings the layoffs would bring this fiscal year.

County 3rd District Supervisor John Pinches asked if allowing people
to grow up to 99 plants would mean the state would pull back the money
it grants for marijuana eradication. Allman said Mendocino County
didn't get that state grant money this year.

County 5th District Supervisor J. David Colfax wondered aloud if the
emerging nucleus of county-approved marijuana farmers is "the new,
clean face of the cartels."

Pinches also speculated that if people are allowed to grow 99 plants
"in full sun," the plants could produce up to 400 pounds of marijuana,
raising questions about whether it would be diverted to the black market.

Johnson said growers are required to track where the processed
marijuana goes, but since there's no logistical way to track each
package, the tracking is largely "on the honor system."

A handful of permit holders stepped forward to support the fee hikes,
and the Sheriff's Office, during the Tuesday fee hearing.

"Our organization fully supports the raising of the fees involved in
this program," said Ken Beyries, attorney for the California Patients
and Providers Association, whose membership he said includes about
half of the 18 gardens permitted since Johnson started doing 9.31
inspections in July.

"We do so for the simple reason that we realized that we received
greater value and guidance from law enforcement, particularly the
sheriff's department and the other agencies of Mendocino County that
worked ... to implement that program," Beyries said.

He said 11 people on top of the eight permit holders in the
association showed interest in getting permits in 2011.

Johnson says so far, he expects nearly 50 applications for the permits
in 2011, and getting to around 100 is possible.

Since the fees went up, Johnson estimates each new permit could
generate up to $6,450 for the Sheriff's Office. Using that
calculation, it would take almost 200 permits to make up the sheriff's
expected deficit and pay for the seven deputies.

Johnson said the push isn't revenue-driven, and would be happening
regardless of the sheriff's budget crunch. The idea, he said, is to
bring what was previously an underground industry "into the light."

The new collaboration, he says, lets law enforcement focus on illegal
growing -- something he notes the new, legitimized growers and police
both want to see stopped.

"These people really want to help the county," Johnson said. "(These)
growers are as supportive about eradicating illegal marijuana from the
forest as any cop."

Two things will happen as more people apply for permits, according to
Johnson: fees may go down, and the illegal growers' likelihood of
being busted will go up.

"We'll know where the legal stuff is," Johnson said, adding that staff
time won't be wasted going to sites with permitted grows, because his
office keeps files on each permitted grow.

The task at hand, Johnson said, is to gain the trust of the marijuana
farmers who want to grow legally -- a goal that suffered a setback
when federal agents raided Mendocino County's first permitted garden.
It's also to get feedback from the growers about the program as it's
developed.

The logistics and legal intricacies are still emerging as the program
develops, he said, including questions about how marijuana can be
legally transported, including county-to-county transports. Johnson
predicts another initiative to legalize marijuana will be back,
although Prop. 19 failed in November.

"We need to bring that forth with regulation and guidance, and not
just a free-for-all, and that's what we've had in the past" he said,
adding that differing guidelines from county to county have made
compliance near impossible. "What marijuana growers need to know is
what's legal and what's not, and what the cops need to know is what's
legal and what's not."