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CA: DN County May Rule Tuesday On Medical Marijuana

July 5, 2008/The Daily Triplicate/ By Michael Grube


Smith River residents will have their chance to partake in the county's medical marijuana debate Tuesday.

The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors will host a meeting in the Smith River community to continue its public hearing to adopt a new ordinance regarding the possession and cultivation limits for medical marijuana patients and caregivers.
As it stands now, medical marijuana users and growers can have up to 99 plants in a 100 square foot area and be in possession of up to one pound of processed pot.

The Board of Supervisors is considering eliminating these limits and leaving it up to patients, their doctors and law enforcement to determine what is an allowable amount of medical marijuana to grow and possess.

"It's become clear that neither state nor local government is allowed to set a policy limit on what a medical marijuana patient requires for their medical marijuana needs," Del Norte County's Attorney Dohn Henion said.

The county originally wanted to reduce the amount of medical marijuana patients could grow to six mature plants or 12 seedlings, and also lower the the amount a person can possess to 8 ounces. However, a recent California Appellate Court ruling stated it is unconstitutional to do this.

For this reason, the county opted for no limits, thus putting the onus of what is a reasonable amount of medical marijuana on law enforcement, doctors and patients.

Henion said patients will need a doctor's recommendation on the number of plants they can grow and the amount of processed medical marijuana they can possess in order to avoid prosecution.

"If they don't have that then the patient is going to need to justify to law enforcement that they do have an amount that is medically necessary," Henion said.

"If the law enforcement officer doesn't agree, then that person is going to be subject to prosecution and they'll have to prove to a jury that the amount they have is medically necessary."

The man who will eventually see these cases come through his office for prosecution said he is frustrated with the new direction the county is going.

"It's just not a good idea not to have objective standards in the law," Del Norte County District Attorney Mike Riese said.

"We're right back to the ambiguous law that may be applied differently from person to person, from event to event, and that's a little unsettling from my perspective."

Riese also said it's unlikely doctors will be able to determine the needs of their medical marijuana patients, especially when it comes to growing the plant because some people are better at it than others and can yield more per plant.


"How would (doctors) know that this individual could grow 50 plants, and those plants will fit the need?" Riese said.

"There's so many variables."

If the Board of Supervisors adopts this new ordinance, it will take 31 days before it is enforceable.

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