HIGH SCHOOL TRIO ARRESTED AFTER MARIJUANA THEFT

Three Ukiah High School students were arrested Wednesday after they
allegedly stole five of 10 medical marijuana plants being grown in an
Empire Gardens back yard on their way to school.

The three 17-year-olds, one girl and two boys, gave different stories
about what led to the theft, according to Ukiah Police Officer Glenn
Stark.

One boy, the holder of a medical marijuana prescription, said he
couldn't afford to buy his medicine, so he decided to steal some.

Stark said the boy reportedly has the prescription for
insomnia.

The female suspect, and girlfriend of the prescription holder,
reportedly said she found out about the garden and shared it with the
other two, and the three of them planned the theft.

In addition, "she admitted to being a marijuana consumer," Stark
said.

The third suspect said the odor of the marijuana was so strong that it
was just too tempting to pass up, Stark said.

That distinctive smell of mature plants, Stark said, is a problem for
growers and police alike, because it makes it impossible to keep the
gardens secret.

"It's definitely a temptation," he said.

The scent is so strong, neighbors of marijuana growers have made
reports about them to air quality officials, complaining the odor
levels exceed acceptable limits.

Stark noted there have been a number of medical marijuana-related
thefts in the city since Proposition 215 was passed by voters.

One notable case was an armed robbery last year, during which masked
thieves broke into an Empire Gardens home and removed a safe at
gunpoint. The robbery took place shortly after the home's inhabitants
harvested their crop.

People who lived in the neighborhood were upset by the incident and
most said they thought there should be restrictions on growing in the
city limits to avoid tempting gun-toting thieves or children. Many law
enforcement officials agree.

"It's very unsafe" to openly grow marijuana, Stark said, noting a
mature plant can produce around a pound of dry marijuana, which can
sell for between $3,000 and $5,000.

But it's not up to law enforcement to come up with regulations for
growing to make it a safer endeavor. It's up to city and county
officials to create such ordinances and, so far, that has not happened.

"We have never taken it up," said Ukiah Mayor Eric Larson. But "it
seems likely we will at some point in time."

He said any kind of ordinance will have to be a balance between
individual rights and public safety.

Unlike many medical marijuana thieves, the Ukiah High teens were
apprehended because of a watchful neighbor, who spotted them jumping
another neighbor's fence to get into a yard adjacent to the garden.

The neighbor called police after seeing the teens come back and place
a tarp -- which contained the plants -- in the back of a truck.

Stark said the thieves took the plants to an aunt's house and asked
her to keep them until they got back from school. She agreed,
reportedly because she didn't know the marijuana was stolen.

Stark said the boy who owned the truck, and the prescription for
marijuana, was easy to find because he's had prior contact with
police. Just a week ago, he was contacted for driving around instead
of going to school, Stark said.