BUTTE SUPERVISORS SEND MARIJUANA ORDINANCE BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

OROVILLE -- After five hours of passionate, often accusatory and
sometimes threatening public testimony, the Butte County Board of
Supervisors decided to send a proposed marijuana cultivation
ordinance back to the drawing board.

The proposed ordinance would have put limits on how many medicinal
marijuana plants could be grown, based on the acreage of a lot, and
how far they had to be from property lines. It also established fees
and procedures to ensure each plant is registered and the grow approved.

Before the hearing, hundreds of people - mostly strongly opposed to
the ordinance - filled all the seats in the 190-capacity supervisors
chamber, filled the aisles and stood against the back wall up to five deep.

Oroville city Fire Marshal Dean Hill ordered most of those standing
to leave the room because of fire restrictions, and even required
some of those in the lobby to exit.

Many speakers charged that the ordinance was an effort to end legal
medicinal marijuana gardens within the county, a claim both County
Attorney Bruce Alpert and District Attorney Mike Ramsey denied as
they outlined the proposal.

Ramsey and Sheriff Jerry Smith told the board medicinal marijuana
gardens are sometimes covers for commercial operations. They said the
skunk-like smell of the plants as they near maturity and the threat
of armed thieves is a significant issue for public safety.

But dozens came forward to say they would die if they didn't have
ready and economical access to their medicine.

One woman explained she has pancreatic cancer and the fees associated
with the new ordinance would make it impossible to grow marijuana.

"If you pass this, you might as well pull out your revolver and kill
me," she said.

Steve Cherms, who identified himself as a reverend in the United
Cannabis Ministry, warned, "I will do everything I can do to see all
of you are impeached. It will be the last thing that I do. I will put
you out of office if it's the last thing I do, on my oath, on my life."

Raymond Eugene Sperry, who didn't list a hometown, said the proposal
made the supervisors "look like a bunch of Nazis."

"This ordinance is a declaration of war. It is designed to make pot
smokers second-class citizens. If it's war, we will fight you with a
pen, or we will fight you with a sword, if you force us," he continued.

On the other side of the question, Luther and Kathy McLaughlin, who
live in unincorporated north Chico, said pot gardens in their
residential neighborhood create a stench that drives them indoors
during the late summer.

They said they are afraid of the marijuana garden robberies, and they
are concerned because some plants are so close to their property
their grandchildren could just reach through the fence and grab a handful.

After the public hearing was closed, Oroville Supervisor Bill
Connelly said many of the marijuana advocates in the audience were
his constituents, but he added there were many others he had heard
from who endorsed controls on gardens.

He said the problem essentially was a neighbor dispute. If everybody
involved was more neighborly there would be fewer problems, he said.

Chico Supervisor Larry Wahl agreed with the need for neighborliness.
He also was concerned about home invasion robberies and shootings
that had taken place over marijuana gardens in Chico.

At the same time, he said harsh regulations with high fees would just
result in "creative avoidance" on the part of the growers and lead to
"unintended consequences." Wahl said he couldn't vote for the
ordinance in its present form.

All five members of the board expressed largely the same concerns and
all were unwilling to vote on the proposed ordinance.

Paul Hahn, the county's chief administrative officer, said it was
clear the supervisors wanted a new look at setbacks and fees.

He said a restriction that would allow only two mature plants and one
juvenile on a lot smaller than one acre was "causing a lot of heartburn."

Hahn said staff will review the ordinance and come back in about a month.

The hearing was ended without a vote.