Growing Their Own In Sebastopol

[Jim Finnel]

Sebastopol wants to regulate the way medical marijuana patients grow their own, requiring modestly-sized pot gardens within secure buildings or outside with high walls and locked gates.

“If we didn’t do any of this, we run the risk of excessive cultivation that could be done, and maybe has been done, in a way that threatens the public safety,” said Vice Mayor Guy Wilson. “It takes place anyway. ... We are responding to that reality and not pretending it is not there.”

Sebastopol would be the first Sonoma County city with a cultivation ordinance, which the City Council will consider Tuesday night.

“The reason it is happening in Sebastopol is there are a lot of medical marijuana advocates,” said Wilson, a member of the council committee that drew up the ordinance. “This is a fairly progressive community.”

When voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, it set up very general provisions under which medicinal marijuana may be cultivated, prescribed, dispensed and used.

“There are no clear standards on how much and under which conditions,” said Kenyon Webster, Sebastopol planning director. “The city is concerned about community safety and having appropriate limits on what is reasonable on the patient’s side, but without creating a major concern in terms of public safety.”

Under the proposed Sebastopol ordinance, medical marijuana patients and care-givers are allowed to grow marijuana on a 100-square-foot plot, either inside a hothouse, in a home or in an outside area with a six-foot high solid fence with locked gates.

It also allows dispensaries and medical marijuana patients to set up cooperative gardens of up to 750 square feet for non-retail purposes.

The proposed ordinance is being praised by medical marijuana advocates.

“The city is being pro-active,” said Robert Jacob, executive director of Peace in Medicine Healing Center, a Sebastopol medical marijuana dispensary. “It creates a process to tell their citizens to do this well, instead of not telling them anything and then treating them like criminals.”

Peace in Medicine is Sebastopol’s only dispensary and has a permit to open a second.

Wilson said Sebastopol police would react to neighbor complaints, but would not be out looking over fences for violators.

Police Chief Jeff Weaver said there have been three burglaries, but no robberies or serious problems related to marijuana. Even so, he remains concerned about public safety.

“Any time you have something of value, which marijuana is, the more there is of it, the more likely someone will try to take it,” Weaver said. “Any increase in cultivation is a concern to me.”


NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: PressDemocrat.com
Author: BOB NORBERG
Copyright: 2010 PressDemocrat.com
Contact: Contact Us | PressDemocrat.com
Website: Growing their own in Sebastopol | PressDemocrat.com

 

[discusted]

Although many cities and counties are spending millions of dollars entertaining a minority of their constituents and blocking all lawful attempts to provide adequate services within their community.

Resulting in the re-criminalization if you will of a lawful medical MJ user.

The county of Tulare has about the best ordinance for the safe provisions of MJ.

Although the county is prosecuting every gray area violation they can find.

The city of Tulare did a pretty good job, but limited the dispensaries to 1 per 25,000 population. Fees and license are within reasonable limits.

Hopefully by 2012 the proponents to legalization will have their act together better than 19. There was so much gray it was dangerous, in my opinion.

 

[sicntired]

Another it was dangerous in my opinion stoner.The trouble with opinions is that they're like assholes everyones got one.Too bad so many so called stoners were so busy trying to find fault in the bill they missed the point.With people like this it's no wonder pot is still illegal.I'm beginning to think the feds are right in cracking down on California.You people don't deserve any better.

 

[discusted]

Another it was dangerous in my opinion stoner.The trouble with opinions is that they're like assholes everyones got one.Too bad so many so called stoners were so busy trying to find fault in the bill they missed the point.With people like this it's no wonder pot is still illegal.I'm beginning to think the feds are right in cracking down on California.You people don't deserve any better.

As I get it then, in your opinion which disregards logic, legalization no matter what strings are attached is acceptable and even hoped for.

Let us look at a possible scenario if Prop 19 passed.

You yourself, not someone else, decides to grow your 25 sq. foot garden, according to my calculations that could produce about 8 lbs. of bud (128 oz.), 25 pounds of butter and about 360ml of oil. T The average users that I know consume less than 2 ounces per month of bud. 1/2 pound of butter, not many use oil, I don't make hash so have no idea what that would be. If you cannot get this result then you need to address your nutrition schedule.


According to Prop 19,you believe that as long as you can prove that what you posses is for personal use nothing could happen to you, WRONG.

You could be arrested, your children seized and put into foster care, your property seized and possibly put up for auction.

You say no way, it's legal. How can they do that to me.

Simple, in order to make your supply more user friendly you store the bulk in proper containers and your monthly use in small manageable containers. Butter is in manageable 2lb containers and the oil of course is in vitamin syringe. The investigating offers determines that your stash is more than what you claim to use therefore the balance must be for sale, which would still be ILLEGAL.

Now you have been arrested with possession with intent to sell a controlled substance. You see, nowhere in prop 19 does it remove cannabis from the controlled substance list.

No you have bailed out, at an estimated cost of $2,000.00, or 4,000.00 if they tagged your wife, non refundable, gone. Now you have to deal with child protective service to get your children returned to you. Then of course in about 2 months you get notice that your house has been scheduled for auction under the seizure laws. During all of this you are fighting with the judicial system to get your evidence that all of your stash was for personal use, which may or may not be believed. The DA would probably send you a plea bargain to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance that would net you 6 months in jail, dismissible if you complete drug classes.

You may say that I am looking at the worst possible scenario. Yes I am. Because that is exactly what COULD happen.

The only answer to legalization of Cannabis, that I can grasp, is to remove cannabis completely from the Federal and State controlled substance act. Anything else is too risky.

The cities and states can still pass legislation to tax the growing and selling of the products produced from cannabis.

Thank you for your patience

 

[24kanthony]

The only answer to legalization of Cannabis, that I can grasp, is to remove cannabis completely from the Federal and State controlled substance act. Anything else is too risky.

The cities and states can still pass legislation to tax the growing and selling of the products produced from cannabis.

Could not have said that better myself.

 

[sicntired]

Of course there are better options.No one said this would be perfect.It would be a step in the right direction.I've been waiting and watching this thing for over 40 years and if you think the feds will remove marijuana from shed 1 in our lifetime you are dreaming my friend.I know what you're saying,I knew before I read your comment.This is going to have to be done in a state by state way,just like medical marijuana.My government just made possession of five plants a mandatory minimum sentence.The first time a mandatory minimum sentence has ever been used in this country.You should always take what you can get my friend.They take it back so easily.