cannabisnews.com: DA Says Pot Growing Complaints are Civil Matters DA Says Pot Growing Complaints are Civil Matters Posted by CN Staff on October 16, 2004 at 17:50:29 PT Editorial Source: Ukiah Daily Journal District Attorney Norm Vroman met with local police chiefs Thursday morning to discuss the problem of marijuana gardens in residential areas.Vroman wanted to make it clear that his office is not the place to look for a solution to what many in the community believe is out of control pot growing in local neighborhoods. In two recent incidents, a man was slightly wounded when a pot thief shot at him during an effort to steal pot plants from a back yard garden. Another man died of a heart attack - presumably while trying to climb a fence into a pot garden - and was found dead in another back yard.These and the numerous complaints of pot plant odors wafting through the city of Ukiah and its outskirts have put pressure on local politicians to do something to curb the growing. The marijuana growing has steadily increased since the passage of Prop. 215 legalizing medical marijuana in the state of California. As part of the law, people are allowed to grow pot either as users or as caregivers to medical marijuana patients. Either designation has become relatively easy to get in Mendocino County.Vroman says each local community has to deal with the marijuana growing problem as a nuisance, not as a criminal event to which his office must respond."I get letters every day accusing me of not prosecuting marijuana growing, or not understanding the problem," Vroman said, adding, "There's definitely a problem, but not a law enforcement problem."Vroman said that if someone sneaks into someone's back yard to steal the marijuana, yes that's a prosecutable offense and he has prosecuted cases of medical marijuana theft as he would prosecute any theft from a home.But as far as just the fact that pots plants exist in residential neighborhoods, or that they give off an odor, is not law enforcement's problem as long as medical marijuana is legal in California."There's a lot of emotion about it from both the public and law enforcement," he said.As Vroman sees it, most of the concern about marijuana growing in back yards falls under local nuisance ordinances - "and there are adequate laws for that." Ukiah Police Chief John Williams said that's what he's going to try to find out: what are the ordinances in place now, are they enough and are measures needed to regulate medical marijuana growing specifically, even though it is legal."(Prop. 215) has led to problems we're experiencing now where we have individuals in residential areas growing marijuana which is causing concern with neighbors," Williams said. "As things stand right now they do have the right to do that."As a city we are investigating what possible avenues are available to us to at least have some control within residential areas, to maybe at least address the concerns of people," Williams said.Williams said that while the odors from marijuana plants are a problem to some - (Vroman says regulating for odors opens a "whole Pandora's box") of more concern to law enforcement is the "safety aspect which we witnessed here this year."Both Vroman and Williams noted that the kind of marijuana growing the county saw emerging in the hills 20 to 30 years ago has now been brought down into town.With people able to see pot plants over a neighbor's fence, it's like growing "a money tree" in your back yard, Vroman said. How do you keep people from inviting crime? "That's what were trying to determine," Williams said, adding that he will soon be going to the Ukiah City Council with some recommendations. First, City Attorney David Rapport is investigating what legal avenues the city may have to regulate medical marijuana. "But we do think that we can have some control over it, just to limit the exposure and public safety problem," Williams said. "Eventually it's something the City Council will be looking at."Source: Ukiah Daily Journal (CA)Published: Saturday, October 16, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Ukiah Daily JournalContact: udj pacific.netWebsite: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Related Articles:Pot Growers Need To Be Sensitivehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19497.shtmlPungent Pot Causing Stink in Mendocino Countyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19492.shtmlPot Odors Wafting in Valleyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19470.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #11 posted by sukoi on October 18, 2004 at 15:09:29 PT More about that link: Thanks all and you are quite welcome! I was sent that link from a friend (Noelle Davis) who happens to be the director of Texans for Medical Marijuana: http://www.texansformedicalmarijuana.org/I don’t know if any of you shortened the link and checked out the site or not but there are more links to other briefs in the entry where that link came from. It’s not quite half way down the page here: http://www.goldsteinhowe.com/blog/ and it’s definitely worth taking a look at!I would have just linked to the post but I think that the url would be too long! [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on October 18, 2004 at 14:36:43 PT sukoi I second the thank you! [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Max Flowers on October 18, 2004 at 13:25:21 PT yeah thanks sukoi I just read the thing and it was brilliantly written. Even though they admit being total prohibitionists, they go ahead and make the case for state sovereignty very eloquently and powerfully. Coming from Alabama, it is amazing. It gives me hope in this battle against federal power-grabbing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Truth on October 18, 2004 at 07:32:50 PT sukoi Thanks for the link.... [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by sukoi on October 18, 2004 at 04:16:33 PT Raich v. Ashcroft Breif: BRIEF OF THE STATES OF ALABAMA,LOUISIANA, AND MISSISSIPPIAS AMICI CURIAEIN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTShttp://www.goldsteinhowe.com/blog/files/raich.states.brief.pdf [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Truth on October 17, 2004 at 19:53:01 PT one thing They never address the issue that to change a voter initative in CA it can only be changed by another voter initative (or court order). Local communities have no legal right to rewrite the 215 law in any way. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by runruff on October 17, 2004 at 10:21:40 PT: Dear Max I live in southeren Oregon but these guys travel all over the united states to do their dirty work. You might find them anywhere freedom is being trounced. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Max Flowers on October 17, 2004 at 08:36:45 PT runruff, thanks But that warning would be a lot more useful if you would reveal what region of the US one should be wary of these guys in. cheers MF [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 16, 2004 at 20:58:45 PT Off Topic: Without a Doubt Hi Everyone,I am reading this article about George Bush and I know from what I've read so far it hits home with me and I thought some here might want to read it too. It's a 10 page article. Here it is.****Bruce Bartlett, a domestic policy adviser to Ronald Reagan and a treasury official for the first President Bush, told me recently that ''if Bush wins, there will be a civil war in the Republican Party starting on Nov. 3.'' The nature of that conflict, as Bartlett sees it? Essentially, the same as the one raging across much of the world: a battle between modernists and fundamentalists, pragmatists and true believers, reason and religion. Complete Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/magazine/17BUSH.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by runruff on October 16, 2004 at 20:28:19 PT: gun totin' bullies for hire. Three anti-American kill for hire DEA agents you never want to meet. Randy Snow [due to retire after messin' with peoples lives for the last 20 years] Ronald Wright [punk deluxe] and the gang leader a personal aquaintance I met in yoga class, thinks he's friggin' James Bond and Rambo all rolled into one. Not a guy you would have over for dinner. Kevin Quinn. If you meet up with one of these characters keep one eye on your wallet and one eye on your wife. They have morals of an alley cat.Yes on 33 yes on freedom Down on the neo-SS [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 16, 2004 at 18:29:45 PT Move! Don't like your neighbors, do what everyone else does... move! Don't like the state laws, move to another state. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment