Medical marijuana meeting overflows in California

Triplicate.com
Citizens packed the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors chambers Tuesday, spilling into the hallways waiting for their chance to speak on a proposal to greatly reduce the amount of medical marijuana people can grow and possess.

Today, the county’s medical marijuana guidelines allow a person to cultivate up to 99 plants in a 100-square-foot area and possess up to 1 pound of processed pot. The county wants to reduce these numbers to six mature plants and 4 ounces.

Del Norte County’s attorney, Dohn Henion, said the county cannot set limits on medical marijuana possession that are less than what the state allows, which is six mature plants and 8 ounces.

One of those afforded the opportunity to speak was Doug McCarty, who helped come up with Del Norte County’s original plant count and possession limits.

He said the 99-plant and 100-square-foot rule was designed following scientific guidelines for plant yield. The amount of marijuana produced by six plants would not be enough, he said, and might cause people, such as himself, to seek their medication elsewhere.

“This would force me to get my medication from the streets,” McCarty said, something he does not want to do.

A cannabis consultant and expert witness hired by local medical marijuana advocates, Jason Browne, echoed McCarty’s statements.

“The current system you have right now is scientifically based,” Browne said. “The number of plants to determine yield is irrelevant. It’s the size of the canopy.”

Pot yield is directly correlated to canopy size, he said, and with six plants, patients might not be able to grow enough marijuana to sustain themselves.

Del Norte County Sheriff Dean Wilson said the number of illegal marijuana grows in the county is increasing, and the temptation to abuse the medical marijuana laws is there because of the street value of weed.

As the debate continued, one woman said she exemplifies the reason medical marijuana was legalized by California.

She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and she said her condition continues to get worse.

The cost of electricity hinders her from growing marijuana year-round, she said, which is what she would have to do if the plant count was lowered.

I know many people around the country would be thrilled with six plants and four ounces. To the uninitiated, 100 square feet of 99 marijuana plants sounds incredible. But as the patient in this piece points out, that may be the one outdoor grow she is able to afford for the year.

Law enforcement always claims that higher limits lead to corruption and street dealing, and I don’t doubt that a tiny few will abuse any regulatory system. However, in my experience with Oregon’s 24 plant, 24 ounce limits, I’ve found that the more people grow, the more they share. Fewer people will need the street dealer. Higher limits help remove the medical marijuana patients from the dealer’s customer base.

Of course, if the county sheriff were really concerned about the high prices of street marijuana tempting medical marijuana patients to sell their crop, then he should be joining LEAP and supporting the end of adult marijuana prohibition. So long as there is illegal “street” marijuana and semi-legal “medical” marijuana, there will always be the corrupting influence of prohibition profits tainting the medical marijuana programs.  You cannot have a black market run alongside a white market without both becoming a little grayer.