Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Pot gardening was back on the Town Council's agenda recently. Weed, that is, the controversial now legal-in-California recreational plant that alters one's reality for a time. California law gives any adult citizen the right to grow up to six marijuana plants where they live for personal use. The Council decided in their last meeting that the leaves of marijuana may not receive either direct sun rays or fresh air, nor may their roots touch the earth in Paradise. They presented two clear reasons for this new ordinance: odor and crime.
The stink of cannabis plants is so offensive, skunk-like they agreed, that the outdoor growing of even a single plant should be against the law. The attorney assured them that they have the power to ban pot in outdoor gardens. Would that they only had the power to ban skunks.
Not one of the Council members or the town staff, nor a single member of the public in attendance, noted that not all pot has such an offensive stench. A simple Internet search reveals there is much interest in low odor strains, and many are readily available. For example, Kanna.biz sells no less than twenty low odor strains, one named Paradise Seeds. One may wonder about the mindset of anyone wanting to grow a few pot plants in their yard why they didn't provide this information to the council for consideration.
Stench should be avoided; likewise, tolerance should be embraced. People in Paradise have many different likes and dislikes. Living closely together we put up with all kinds of activity from leaf blowers to lawn mowers and chain saws, radios to recess, parties to gunshots (which are illegal of course), and traffic and trucks and sirens – all noise, but we cannot tolerate an odiferous plant.
On crime one Town Council member asserted that marijuana causes murder. The weed, being valuable, attracts criminal activity; therefore, they agreed pot gardeners must lock up their plants safely within an occupied residence or a "fully enclosed and secure structure" on the same property. We wonder how many new structures will be built in yards to accommodate this ban on outdoor growing of the recreational marijuana plants.
Locks and fences keep honest people honest. People live with the chance that a dangerous person might steal their valuable things, even if they're locked up. We don't need an ordinance requiring we lock up our valuables.
So, whether you want to or not, per the Council's decision, if you live in the Town of Paradise you do not have a right to grow weed in your garden. Free and open pot gardening may only legally be done in one's dreams.
The Post editorial board previously supported measures to keep marijuana illegal and restricted. Given the fact of the legalization of recreational marijuana in California and the overall trend nationwide, our revised position is more libertarian. The more yards that have a few pot plants behind fences, the more common it will be, less of a bullseye for criminals. Individuals supplying their own demands by growing the weed in their own yards may lower the overall demand for illegal marijuana. We think that's a good thing.
Therefore, considering the reality of the decriminalization of marijuana we do not see the need for Paradise to make growing weed outside illegal; rather, the Town should instead recommend gardeners use low-odor varieties and keep their yards as secure as they can. Additionally, the Town should keep separate statistics of complaints and police reports about indoor and outdoor grows, legal and illegal, to have a record of where the problems are.
Some people are more sensitive than others to smell and smoke. Paradise has not banned outdoor smoking of cigarettes in neighborhoods, nor should they. This is for neighbors to work out for themselves.
Fence hopping to steal from a plant will not be stopped by a law, and it's less invasive than to enter a home. It is already illegal to trespass, just as it is to break into a home or a car. In today's world, it doesn't make sense for the Town to have an ordinance to ban weed in residential gardens.
With a single code enforcement officer on staff to deal with serious health and safety concerns, the Town cannot effectively enforce the ban on growing a few otherwise legal weed plants outdoors. Should a law be passed that the Town doesn't have the ability to enforce?
We recommend the Town Council reconsider its recent decision and allow several of the maximum of six plants to be grown outside, in fairness to individuals who want to do so on their private property. Additionally, the Council should recommend a "good neighbor" policy of growing low odor plants. People should be considerate of any sensitivity their neighbors may express. This is a common-sense approach to living with the new California law in Paradise.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Town decision on marijuana needs review
Contact: Contact us
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Paradise Post: Breaking News, Sports, Business, Entertainment & Paradise News
The stink of cannabis plants is so offensive, skunk-like they agreed, that the outdoor growing of even a single plant should be against the law. The attorney assured them that they have the power to ban pot in outdoor gardens. Would that they only had the power to ban skunks.
Not one of the Council members or the town staff, nor a single member of the public in attendance, noted that not all pot has such an offensive stench. A simple Internet search reveals there is much interest in low odor strains, and many are readily available. For example, Kanna.biz sells no less than twenty low odor strains, one named Paradise Seeds. One may wonder about the mindset of anyone wanting to grow a few pot plants in their yard why they didn't provide this information to the council for consideration.
Stench should be avoided; likewise, tolerance should be embraced. People in Paradise have many different likes and dislikes. Living closely together we put up with all kinds of activity from leaf blowers to lawn mowers and chain saws, radios to recess, parties to gunshots (which are illegal of course), and traffic and trucks and sirens – all noise, but we cannot tolerate an odiferous plant.
On crime one Town Council member asserted that marijuana causes murder. The weed, being valuable, attracts criminal activity; therefore, they agreed pot gardeners must lock up their plants safely within an occupied residence or a "fully enclosed and secure structure" on the same property. We wonder how many new structures will be built in yards to accommodate this ban on outdoor growing of the recreational marijuana plants.
Locks and fences keep honest people honest. People live with the chance that a dangerous person might steal their valuable things, even if they're locked up. We don't need an ordinance requiring we lock up our valuables.
So, whether you want to or not, per the Council's decision, if you live in the Town of Paradise you do not have a right to grow weed in your garden. Free and open pot gardening may only legally be done in one's dreams.
The Post editorial board previously supported measures to keep marijuana illegal and restricted. Given the fact of the legalization of recreational marijuana in California and the overall trend nationwide, our revised position is more libertarian. The more yards that have a few pot plants behind fences, the more common it will be, less of a bullseye for criminals. Individuals supplying their own demands by growing the weed in their own yards may lower the overall demand for illegal marijuana. We think that's a good thing.
Therefore, considering the reality of the decriminalization of marijuana we do not see the need for Paradise to make growing weed outside illegal; rather, the Town should instead recommend gardeners use low-odor varieties and keep their yards as secure as they can. Additionally, the Town should keep separate statistics of complaints and police reports about indoor and outdoor grows, legal and illegal, to have a record of where the problems are.
Some people are more sensitive than others to smell and smoke. Paradise has not banned outdoor smoking of cigarettes in neighborhoods, nor should they. This is for neighbors to work out for themselves.
Fence hopping to steal from a plant will not be stopped by a law, and it's less invasive than to enter a home. It is already illegal to trespass, just as it is to break into a home or a car. In today's world, it doesn't make sense for the Town to have an ordinance to ban weed in residential gardens.
With a single code enforcement officer on staff to deal with serious health and safety concerns, the Town cannot effectively enforce the ban on growing a few otherwise legal weed plants outdoors. Should a law be passed that the Town doesn't have the ability to enforce?
We recommend the Town Council reconsider its recent decision and allow several of the maximum of six plants to be grown outside, in fairness to individuals who want to do so on their private property. Additionally, the Council should recommend a "good neighbor" policy of growing low odor plants. People should be considerate of any sensitivity their neighbors may express. This is a common-sense approach to living with the new California law in Paradise.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Town decision on marijuana needs review
Contact: Contact us
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Paradise Post: Breaking News, Sports, Business, Entertainment & Paradise News
