Marijuana Haven Feels Heat In Backlash Against Medical Pot

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June 9, 2008, 3:51 pm

 

Marijuana Haven Feels Heat in Backlash Against Medical Pot

Posted by Ron Winslow

 

If there is such thing as a safe haven for marijuana farmers it is

Mendocino County, Calif., home to a flourishing green-leaf economy

that emerged in the past decade to supply patients who are legally

prescribed the weed for medical uses.

 

A marijuana bud on a plant grown by George and Jean Hanamoto in

Mendocino County, Calif. Hanamoto, 74, uses marijuana to relieve

glaucoma and back pain.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

But now, amid concerns the local marijuana culture is cultivating big

business in illegal markets and otherwise disrupting the region's

commerce, residents are pushing back, the New York Times reports.

They voted on a proposition last week to restrict how much marijuana

patients may keep in their possession. The move reflects action in

other communities across the state, where voters have banned or put

restrictions on the marijuana clubs that have sprouted up to fill pot

prescriptions.

 

Medical marijuana was legalized in the state in 1996, but federal law

continues to prohibit sales of the drug. Resulting busts and drug-

agent seizures of plants grown outdoors have caused many growers to

move operations to inside rooms and marijuana greenhouses, the Times

reports. In Arcata, Calif., home of Humboldt State University, town

officials estimate that one in five homes has set aside space to grow

marijuana, contributing to a housing shortage for university students.

 

Local gendarmes have devoted plenty of time to enforcement actions

too, as busts like one from a list of recent press releases from the

Mendocino County Sheriff's indicate. The Health Blog reported on the

growing backlash against the growing California marijuana economy

here.

 

Current laws in Mendocino County permit a person who has a

prescription for marijuana to possess up to 25 mature plants and two

pounds of dried pot, well above limits of state law, which allows six

mature plants or 12 immature plans and eight ounces of dope, unless a

doctor recommends a higher amount. Proposition B, on the ballot for a

county election last week, would put the local statutes in compliance

with state law.

 

So far, voters appear to support the restrictions, the Blog has

determined. The preliminary count from 16,285 votes: 52%-48% in favor

of Proposition B. But Katrina Bartolomie, the county's assistant

registrar of voters, tells the Blog that 11,000 absentee votes remain

to be counted and final results may not be known for three weeks.

 

 

Article Link:

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/06/09/marijuana-haven-feels-heat-in-

backlash-against-medical-pot/