DA UNVEILS EXPANSIVE MEDICAL POT POLICY

EUREKA -- Humboldt County medical marijuana patients would be allowed to
grow substantially more pot under District Attorney Paul Gallegos' new
proposed marijuana prosecution guidelines.

Under the proposal, patients would be able to have 99 plants, or a maximum
of a 100-square-foot growing area, indoors or outdoors. These limits would
allow patients to have a supply of up to 3 pounds of dried marijuana buds
per year, Gallegos said Tuesday.

The new guidelines, currently being reviewed in draft form by area law
enforcement agencies, are far more liberal than was allowed by Gallegos'
predecessor, Terry Farmer, who allowed medical marijuana patients to have
10 plants.

The policy would also seem to send a message to local law enforcement
officials, some of whom have remained skeptical of the medical benefits of
using marijuana and have arrested medical marijuana patients.

In a telephone interview from Oxnard on Tuesday, Gallegos said his hope is
that the policy provides practical, consistent guidelines for both law
enforcement and medical marijuana patients.

"We need an easy criteria to deal with so we're not second-guessing
ourselves," Gallegos said. "Something that provides predictability for
growers, as much as we could, on what they're allowed to do and what law
enforcement can do -- minimize the gray area.

"We're interested in not inhibiting people from growing," Gallegos
continued, referring to the limits. "What we want to do is have some way of
capping off yield because at some point yield will exceed consumption,
which means they'll either have to destroy the excess or it will end up in
the market, which is illegal."

The biggest hurdle the policy must clear in the next few weeks is the rest
of the law enforcement community, which over the years has remained sharply
divided over the issue of medical marijuana.

At times, medical marijuana patients have been unfairly arrested and their
plants seized by police, some have charged. On the other hand, police have
maintained that some medical marijuana users abuse their privileges and
engage in illegal activities.

Lt. Randy Mendosa, soon-to-be interim chief of the Arcata Police
Department, said he simply hopes to have a clear policy, especially on
murky issues such as transportation of marijuana and whether patient
caregivers can possess the drug.

"We've gotten fairly comfortable the past few years in doing this, trying
to maneuver the law and make it work," Mendosa said. "But we rely heavily
on the DA to guide us through less clear parts of the law.

"There are people who are familiar with the law; people who think they're
familiar but aren't; people familiar yet who try to put different spins on
it to make it work for their own interests.

"I'm not going to make any judgments on what's radical or not," Mendosa
said. "We need to follow his lead because he's the chief law enforcement
officer of the county."

Fortuna Police Chief Kent Bradshaw said he hasn't looked at Gallegos'
proposal in detail, but when told Gallegos planned to allow up to 99
plants, said that a lot more discussion will be needed over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, his officers will continue to investigate and arrest suspected
illegal marijuana users and growers as they always have, the chief said.

"I'm not going at odds yet with the DA, and hope I won't have to," Bradshaw
said. "We need to really work together on this, we need to do the science
- -- what's needed, how much is an acceptable amount -- and come to some
mutual understanding."

The proposed policy would also bring Humboldt County's guidelines closer to
Del Norte and Sonoma, which also allow up to 99 plants.

Gallegos, who said he favors legalizing marijuana, also aims to relax
prosecution standards in cases involving small amounts of non-prescribed,
illicit marijuana use. The new district attorney said he wants instead to
use more of the county's court time on methamphetamine cases.

Despite apparent disagreement from some agencies, Gallegos said he's
confident a consensus can be reached.

"I think we can," he said. "Everyone wants to do what's right. We're just
juggling how to do that. People don't want to seem like they're condoning
unlawful activity, being soft on crime.

"Some have the idea that it's a gateway drug. I don't share that opinion.

"Our war (on drugs) is causing the erosion of 4th Amendment rights. ...
Marijuana doesn't have the social impact that even alcohol does. It
probably would be better legalized and regulated like alcohol. But it's
also important to keep it away from kids and to punish irresponsible conduct.

"It's important we distinguish between illegal and legal marijuana possession."

The policy is likely weeks away from being finished, with Gallegos and
other law enforcement officials both saying that they'll continue to work
together on the final product.