BOARD TO DISCUSS POT INITIATIVE TUESDAY

LAKEPORT -- The Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) has a
discussion set for Tuesday about the successful signature drive
trying to get a citizen-generated pot growth ordinance implemented into law.

Proponents of "The Lake County Medical Marijuana Cultivation Act of
2012" gathered enough names as part of their initiative effort to
force the BOS to consider the proposed law.

Supporters submitted 3,285 signatures to the county in December, and
election officials confirmed 2,134 came from registered Lake County
voters, according to Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley. She said her
office stopped verifying names once the threshold of 2,115 was cleared.

Fridley is scheduled to present a certification of her count to the
BOS Tuesday at 10 a.m.

The supervisors will ultimately have two options regarding the
ordinance drafted by a group of citizens: adopt the law without any
changes or place the initiative measure on the June ballot.

However, the BOS could choose Tuesday to direct county staff members
to prepare reports outlining the potential impacts of either
decision. That research would have to be done quickly because the
supervisors must decide between the two options by mid-February, Fridley said.

"We believe that accepting our ordinance would be the best thing,"
said Don Merrill, a representative of the two groups behind the
initiative -- the Lake County Citizens for Responsible Regulations
and the Lake County Green Farmers Association.

Merrill argued that adopting the proposed law soon would allow the
county to have "reasonable regulations" in place before the upcoming
marijuana grow season.

No matter what decision the supervisors make about the initiative
measure, they could also throw the county's hat into the ring during
the June election.

The BOS could have staff draft a different pot growth law to present
to the voters.

Merrill said he has "some concern about the Board of Supervisors
accepting our ordinance and then drafting one of their own to put on
the ballot in June."

He called that "the worst scenario."

The supervisors would have to approve of placing a county-drafted
measure on the June ballot by their March 6 meeting because the
deadline to qualify for the primary election is March 9, Fridley said.

Any proposed law written by the county would have to differ from the
pot growth ordinance the BOS passed in October but then rescinded
Jan. 3 following a successful referendum petition.

Currently, the Lake County Code has no specific regulations regarding
medical marijuana cultivation, though growers still have to adhere to
other relevant local laws, such as grading and water-usage requirements.