James Grubbs and Josh Clinton say growing marijuana is not the shop’s primary focus.

“We don’t look down on it or promote it either,” James Grubbs said Tuesday. “We sell (the equipment and supplies) and they do what they want with it.”

The ban is in place for 45 days while the county Community Development Department prepares a permanent ordinance.

Supervisors unveiled Tuesday a 15-page policy for cultivation of medical marijuana, most of which has been carried over from an ordinance supervisors rejected in July 2009, to be voted on in the coming weeks.

The earlier ordinance was voted down 3-2 in part because it had not been created by an ad-hoc committee.

In 1999, his first year in office, Parker set up guidelines in Tehama County for people who wanted to grow pot to alleviate pain and suffering. He thinks he was the first sheriff in the state to do so.

In January, the supervisors enacted an "urgency ordinance" creating the original dispensary ban. The stated goal of the moratorium was to give the county time to investigate how other jurisdictions are dealing with dispensaries that are used to distribute medical marijuana.

That measure was scheduled to expire 45 days after it was enacted. However, the same law that allowed the supervisors to take such an action also permitted the panel to extend the moratorium for an additional 22 months beyond the expiration date of the urgency ordinance.

The moratorium originally was proposed by Supervisor Leonard Moty at the board's meeting two weeks ago. Moty said the moratorium would give the county time to review the outcomes of several pending court cases before implementing any laws governing medical marijuana distribution and cultivation.

The ordinance was made available for public scrutiny on Tuesday and will be on the Board of Supervisor's agenda on March 16 at 1:30 p.m.

"I believe this is a good, fair ordinance," said Sheriff Clay Parker, who was on the committee that produced the ordinance. "I support it completely."

A proposed ordinance on today's City Council agenda would extend the city's moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries one year if accepted. A year's moratorium approved last year is set to lapse on April 27.

On Jan. 12, the supervisors adopted an "interim urgency ordinance" that established a 45-day moratorium on new dispensaries or the operation of existing ones.

Flash Gordon, 30, was arrested Thursday after being identified as the proprietor of North Bay Alternative Healing at 537 Merchant St., police said.

There were some parts he knew he could cut, but before he reached the podium, the Stockton City Council announced it would be limiting each speaker to three minutes.

In what Mayor Ann Schwab called a "holistic approach" to the topic of medical marijuana cultivation, the council began the process of allowing and regulating dispensaries in Chico, while simultaneously addressing the issue of outdoor medical marijuana grows.

Currently, the city's zoning ordinance does not allow for the existence of dispensaries within the city limits. There are also no city restrictions on outdoor medical marijuana grows.

Ten people had already spoken to the commissioners. Most urged the county to craft an ordinance that would allow the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries.

The drama and surprise came when Commissioner Fernando Marin began to speak to his colleagues.

"I am for legalizing marijuana, regulating it, taxing it. I think we can't ignore that it has medicinal value."

And then Marin dropped somewhat of a bombshell. He explained he suffers from degenerative disk disorder and has a tumor in his back.

He said he has followed the traditional and excruciating medical treatment involving a five-inch long needle being driven through his tailbone and into his spine for the problems. Marin said he has missed many commission meetings because of the crushing pain.

"There are a lot of very seriously ill people who have recommendations to use medical cannabis and they need to be able to access their medication," said Hoke Murray, a medical marijuana user and advocate.

Two weeks ago the Butte County Board of Supervisors passed a temporary ban on all medical marijuana dispensaries and advised staff to study the issue.

Residents with a valid Prop. 215 license are still allowed to grow their own plants and larger marijuana growing collectives are also permitted, but advocates say there needs to be an easier way for sick patients to get their medicine.

Auburn’s Tim Heer said the recent loss of his paving business sent him looking for another in a quest for an income. The city of Auburn has already banned collectives so he has been seriously considering a location in unincorporated Placer County.

A medicinal marijuana patient who drinks cannabis-infused tea because of allergies, Heer said a cannabis collective in the Auburn area could employ seven others.

Joel Kelly Castle, 62, was arrested on suspicion of sales of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale, and for being armed in the commission of a felony.

The state Assembly's public safety committee voted 4-3 on the measure that would tax and regulate marijuana in the same way alcohol is controlled.

But the health committee also must approve the measure by Friday before the full Assembly can consider it, an unlikely scenario.

At its Oct. 6 meeting, the City Council considered moving forward with an ordinance that would prohibit outdoor marijuana grows and place other regulations on medical marijuana cultivation.

The council ended up sending the matter back to Internal Affairs for further discussion.

SHCHD board member Darryl Cherney chaired the meeting and reported back to the full board of governors at its regular meeting the following day.

Cherney emphasized to the board that this committee is dedicated to opening a discussion about possibilities for a medical marijuana clinic or dispensary in the community. Discussion does not commit the healthcare district to any course of action.

Eighteen people attended the meeting, including SHCHD board chair Nancy Wilson and administrator Harry Jasper. Others expressed interest but were unable to attend the meeting.

But according to a Chico supervisor, that is really no change.

Tuesday, the Butte County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to ban operation of any existing or the opening of any new medical marijuana dispensaries for at least 45 days.

County Attorney Bruce Alpert said the "interim urgency" ordinance passed by the board went into effect immediately.

The action, according to Alpert, gives county staff time to investigate dispensaries and to provide the supervisors with a recommendation on "when, where and if" the county should authorize their operation.

That includes almost 453,000 plants seized during the three months that state Campaign Against Marijuana Planting officers were in the county to assist with marijuana eradication efforts, said Mendocino County Sheriff’s Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.

The county’s marijuana eradication team — COMMET — operates year round.

In addition to the pot plants, COMMET seized 4,100 pounds of packaged marijuana, 104 weapons, and cash and property valued at $1.9 million, Smallcomb said.

Also seized were 5 pounds of hashish, 2 ounces of mushrooms and 150 oxycodone pills, he said.

At its Oct. 6 meeting, the Chico City Council contemplated whether an ordinance prohibiting outdoor marijuana grows should be drafted.

The city received several complaints from residents claiming they suffered from health problems as a result of the smell of outdoor marijuana grows in their neighborhood.

This month, the city is expected to unveil a draft ordinance. After public hearings, leaders hope to adopt a final law in the spring. As the council’s unanimous initial vote shows, there is a strong desire to open clinics, and individuals have testified about the benefits of therapeutic use of marijuana. But there are numerous challenges to drafting a law to responsibly serve the intended purpose, as Napa Police Chief Richard Melton and Napa City Manager Mike Parness made clear during a recent Register editorial board meeting.

State guidelines, not laws, address medical marijuana use. Even though local law enforcement agencies say they follow those guidelines, users and top law enforcement officials alike say they wish the issues of growing, distributing and using it were more clear-cut.

Economists have predicted the recovery from 2008's financial meltdown will be slow, and, sure enough, aftershocks continued to rock Tehama County in 2009.

Red Bluff parted ways with landmarks like the Holiday Market packed up and shut down its Cedar Street location and the State Theatre announced its run would end in June 2010.

Cash for Clunkers sped up auto sales, but it couldn't save Red Bluff Ford, which had entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008. In 2009, the dealership liquidated its inventory and locked its doors. The Red Bluff Chrysler dealership moved to Corning.

JANUARY

Jan. 2 -- Huntzinger case -- Steven Daniel Hash was sentenced to 11 years in state prison Friday for killing a 14-year-old Curtis Huntzinger in 1990.

Jan. 6 -- Kasun's death -- Jacqueline Rorabeck Kasun, an economist whose work helped guide Arcata to build its renowned marsh and wastewater treatment facility, died on the first day of 2009.

The action, good for 10 months and 15 days, follows an initial 45-day "urgency" prohibition adopted Nov. 3.

More than a dozen speakers showed up at the community center to comment on the ban, most of them opposing the council's anticipated action.

Prosecutors alleged Matthew Robert Eubanks was one of 15 individuals involved in an elaborate scheme to use the Compassionate Use Act passed by California voters in 1996 as a cover to illegally cultivate and sell medical marijuana locally.

Jail sentences ranging from 90 to 180 days have been handed down to most of the defendants who had previously entered into a joint plea bargain in the case.

The alleged mastermind, Casey James Wilkins of Chico, on whose property many of the illegal gardens were planted, is serving a three-year prison term after admitting to a separate money laundering charge. Four others are either still awaiting sentencing or trial.

They also happen to operate the town’s only medical-marijuana dispensary, called the Tehama County Patients Collective.

Meanwhile, the Red Bluff Patient Collective, operated by Dawn and Mike Jenkins, remains closed pending further proceedings.

Tehama County Superior Court Judge John Garaventa this morning ordered the matter continued to Dec. 15.

The ordinance, approved Tuesday on a 3-2 vote, has consumed at least 50 hours of the Police Department's time already, Police Chief Peter Hansen said.

One patient said no matter how much the council tries to tweak the ordinance, it is still wrong for them to even consider banning medical marijuana.

Based on a recommendation of City Attorney Richard Crabtree the council voted 5-0 to revise the ordinance.

With Supervisor Les Baugh dissenting, the board directed administrators to develop an ordinance to try to minimize potential problems that could arise from the dispensaries, such as increased crime, overpowering odors and congested traffic.

The commission did not vote Tuesday on a zoning ordinance setting marijuana cultivation standards and dictating where medical marijuana collectives may operate in the city. That decision probably won't be reached before Dec. 8.

The Mother Earth Medicine phone line has been busy with people calling in to sign up. The collective is still accepting members, co-owner Jason Labonte said.

Many people have been visiting the Tehama Herbal Collective in Corning, which is owned by Labonte's partners Ken and Kathy Prather.

The commission did not vote Tuesday on a zoning ordinance setting marijuana cultivation standards and dictating where medical marijuana collectives may operate in the city. That decision probably won’t be reached before Dec. 8.

The council on Monday deadlocked on what was to be a routine "second reading" of the proposed regulations, which were debated and approved 3-1 on Oct. 20.

Councilwoman Missy McArthur had supported the ordinance earlier but voted against it Monday. McArthur suggested the city should spend more time considering the law's implications for medical marijuana patient privacy and other concerns.

In a 4-1 vote, the Board of Supervisors added 10 months and 15 days to a 45-day prohibition that expires Friday. In addition, the panel set a Nov. 24 session to study its options for a broader ordinance that would regulate how the contentious medical pot issue is handled.

The board initially passed the 45-day urgency ordinance in September to try to stop a rush of dispensary openings taking place as county staff was trying to craft guidelines to deal with the establishments under the current zoning ordinance, as Lake County News has reported.

Councilwoman Missy McArthur changed her vote, siding with Patrick Jones against the new regulations, though for different reasons.

"I voted yes on Tuesday but now I feel it's act in haste and regret in leisure," McArthur said, adding there are too many unresolved questions about the new regulations. Jones voted against the city regulations because federal law forbids marijuana possession, and he did not want to put Redding officials in conflict with that law.

Board members voted 4-0 to extend the ordinance for 10 1/2 months, but community development director Rick Coel said he expects to finish an ordinance for the board in about 45 days. The temporary ordinance also protects dispensaries from enforcement action that follow state law and that were established before Sept. 15. Supervisor Jim Comstock was absent from the meeting in the County Courthouse in Lakeport.

The ordinance, drafted by County Counsel Arthur Wylene, could extend the county ban for 10 months and 15 days.

The marijuana he's been growing with Donna Will has been harvested, and she and her crew have been snipping and trimming in a nearby shed.

Guinea hens are everywhere, insurance against grasshoppers - they once ravaged an entire crop. Doran and Will say it's a lot of work and responsibility to provide for 10 patients, but it's important.

In other words, Trippet and Hamburg claim that growing lots of marijuana is more important than the rights of neighbors to live peacefully and securely in their own homes.

Excuse me, but I thought that this "to heck with the neighbors" policy was rejected by the voters when Measure B was passed in 2008. The primary motivation for Measure B, and the main argument put before the voters, was that marijuana cultivation had to be kept within limits to protect innocent neighbors from the dangerous impacts of marijuana grows.

Ukiah and Redwood Valley retailers, car dealerships and restaurants were offered the opportunity to speak to the issue anonymously. The businesses contacted weren't garden supply shops or nurseries. While many business people offered opinions, some still declined on the premise that they would only be guessing, and making stereotypical judgments about their customers in order to do so.

"We have a very diverse customer base," one manager said. "There's no way of determining who these people (growers) are."

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. TV Channel 8 will broadcast the meeting live.

The agenda can be downloaded at www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Boards/Board_of_Supervisors/BOS_Agendas.htm .

The discussion on extending the interim urgency ordinance – adopted in September – to prohibit the establishment of new medical marijuana dispensaries and enforcement actions against existing medical marijuana dispensaries in the county will take place at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Mosier heads the Greater Ukiah Chamber of Commerce and says he hears from many of his members that marijuana growers do spend their cash at local stores and shops.

"You know that, if you live and work here in Mendocino County," he said.

Although no hard and fast studies have been done on the effect of marijuana grower money on the local economy, Mosier said local businesses still know the score.

"I have members who tell me the cash influx into their businesses is what makes the difference" between succeeding and failing.

In the spring of 1980, then-Agricultural Commissioner Ted Eriksen Jr. - a 27-year veteran of the job - told the Board of Supervisors that marijuana production in Mendocino County the previous year had a value of at least $90 million - an estimate he planned to include in his 1979 crop report - and that it was a conservative figure, with the county's pot crop possibly worth much more.

”Seeing the title and the trailer, I was a little fearful that they were sensationalizing things,” Wheetley said Tuesday of the special, Arcata-centric episode of the A&E show “Intervention,” which aired Monday. “But, in the end, I felt it was a pretty balanced overview of things. In particular, I think it highlighted some of the laments of the reality of what went on.”

The commission voted 3-2, recommending adoption of the ordinance to the City Council. Chairman Doug Dale and Commissioner Greg Latourell were the dissenting voters.

Moments before Wednesday's Mission Square property owners meeting, someone dressed in a green Grinch costume with a giant imitation penis attached stepped out of a limousine and walked into Giff's Steakburger - the site of the meeting.

Sitting just outside city limits on Harrison Avenue, across the street from the Dental Arts Plaza and Coast Central Credit Union, the Hummingbird Healing Center recently opened its doors without much fanfare. With a county business license issued in August for a “Holistic Health Care Services” storefront proudly displayed on the wall, the receptionist explained that the Harrison Avenue office is simply the point of intake.

"It's a real gray area in the law that's going to have to be worked out," Cardenas said.

But the centers and the City may be barreling toward a trainwreck – and not the glistening buds of the same name so prized by some of the centers’ patients.

Hallie King, 19, and Anthony Crisanti, 37, both of Nice, were among those arrested, according to a Monday report from Lt. Rusty Noe of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

The letter comes after the Obama Administration earlier this year directed U.S. Attorneys around the country not to enforce marijuana bans if they ran counter to state laws, a move that triggered a statewide rush of new medical marijuana dispensaries, co-ops and smoking rooms, including in Redding and its neighboring cities.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's office led the multi-agency raids, serving 12 search warrants and seizing 53,270 plants, 336 pounds of processed marijuana, 14 firearms and $12,980 in cash.

Lt. Rusty Noe estimated the street value of the seized plants was "in excess of $1 million."

Mendocino County authorities say they've arrested 38 people and seized thousands of marijuana plants in a series of raids on marijuana gardens.

Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman says law enforcement officials found more than 53,000 marijuana plants, 30 pounds of hashish and more than $25,000 in cash last week in searches near the communities of Laytonville and Covelo.

A longtime medical marijuana patient, Sanchez, 51, who was diagnosed with epilepsy in 1997, said creating posters for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws has helped her develop a new style of art she really enjoys.

The move comes following the appointment of three new deputy district attorneys by DA Meredith Lintott.

The new hires, she said, restore staffing levels in the DA's office. Lintott has said her no-prosecution policy was not iron-clad, but necessary at the time because of staff shortages.

And spirits were certainly high.

For the first day of its 38th annual three-day conference, NORML activists and leaders talked about the increased public support for medical marijuana, as well as recreational use.

"We're not arguing the good of marijuana," Mayor Gary Strack said. "We need time to look at what's going on (in legal cases pending judgment)."

The ordinance was extended for 10 months and 15 days, which would be Aug. 9, 2010, was passed Aug. 11, days after a business license application for Tehama Herbal Collective was put in by Ken and Kathy Prather. The collective opened its doors on Aug. 6.

The raid was the culmination of a joint effort from ACCNET, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Bureau of Land Management.

The new hires restore the DA's staffing level, giving her the ability to go back to prosecuting marijuana cases based on individual merit rather than the 200-plant, 20-pound limit she established in an internal memo in May.

Lintott said that policy of not prosecuting cases with fewer than 200 plants or 20 pounds of marijuana was not iron clad, but necessary at the time because of staff shortages.

The suit contends the 25 plant per parcel rule contradicts state law, which places no limit on the number of plants a qualified patient or caregiver may cultivate. It also claims Mendocino County Code Section 9.31 sets an arbitrary limit to the number of plants a medical marijuana cooperative or collective may grow.

After setting himself apart early on as neither for nor against a medical marijuana dispensary in Nevada City, Bergman for three months held a firm poker face.

On Wednesday night, after urging the Nevada City Council to continue to study the possible affects of a medical marijuana dispensary within the Gold Rush town, Bergman aligned with councilmembers David McKay and Sally Harris in a 3-2 vote banning dispensaries.

"We're still working on it," Supervisor Bob Williams said last week. A revamped ordinance that limits the size and location of medical marijuana gardens will probably go before the Board of Supervisors late this month or in early October, he said.

Throughout the week, CAMP teams eradicated 13,000 marijuana plants from Hoopa Valley tribal land and timber company property; 8,200 plants from California State Parks land and timber company property near Pepperwood; 6,200 plants from timber company property near Blocksburg; and 1,000 plants on U.S. Forest Service property near Orleans, according to a Humboldt County Sheriff's Office press release.

"Going back to the '60s, early '70s in Mendocino County, land was cheap," said Tony Craver, twice elected sheriff, now retired. "Thirty-five hundred square miles, only three population centers, very little law enforcement. . . . The hippies, if you will, moved in and started growing pot. The hippies became the establishment."

Weedmaps is a founder of The Dispensary Defense Group, headed by Richard Cowan, former Director of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Meanwhile, Oakland residents overwhelmingly voted this week to approve a first-of-its kind tax on medical marijuana sold at the city's four cannabis dispensaries, the Associated Press reported.

Once the matter has been studied, which could take months, a new ordinance may be considered by the board.

The council's 5-0 vote on the urgency ordinance came two days after Anderson resident Gina Munday opened The Green Heart, a medical marijuana collective and dispensary. It's the city's first such business, which Munday opened sooner than planned to beat the proposed moratorium.

After months of debate, City Council members will consider an ordinance Wednesday night to allow the dispensaries, but some people expressed doubt such operations would benefit their businesses nearby.

My guess: More crime, more ugly people wandering the streets, more "helpful" programs to spend more of your money to make life more comfortable for more and more of these newcomers invading the area hoping to become criminals. At least that's been the pattern.

The store opening, which had been planned for later in the week, was pushed up to Sunday shortly after the Anderson City Council’s agenda was posted online Friday, July 17, announcing that the council would consider at its Tuesday, July 21, meeting an urgency ordinance declaring a 90-day moratorium on just such businesses.

Rampant marijuana cultivation has led to a backlash against marijuana growing in the county.

Tired of keeping their windows shut to keep out the stench of ripening marijuana and afraid of related crime such as home invasion robberies, area residents lashed out and demanded stricter enforcement.

Urgency ordinances require a 4/5 majority vote to pass.

Chiefs John Foster of Grass Valley and Lou Trovato of Nevada City acknowledge their rural cities have less crime in general compared to urban areas.

Since July 1, the department has brought in more than $12,000 by selling approximately 500 of the novel zip ties to medical marijuana patients seeking added protection from seizure of their pot plants, said Sheriff Tom Allman.

In the memos to her staff, the DA told them not to file certain types of new misdemeanor cases and to prosecute felony cases involving marijuana cultivation only for grows involving more than 200 plants or 20 pounds of processed bud.

The Lake County Board of Supervisors reiterated its position Tuesday after learning that Lt. Dave Garzoli of the Lake County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) was undergoing flight training during a June 25 incident in which a leased helicopter used for marijuana eradication was forced to land because of engine failure.

The zip ties are sold only to people with legal medical marijuana cards and will protect them from harassment or arrest if the plants are questioned by law enforcement.

“We have to take care of Grass Valley and make sure we have our ducks in a row before one opens,” said Vice-Mayor Jan Arbuckle Tuesday.

Children living in the home, ages 7 and 11, were taken into protective custody when it was found they were exposed to pot and firearms located throughout the property, according to a Chico Police Department press release.

Eleven of the defendants entered surprise no-contest pleas midway through a lengthy preliminary hearing in the case late last month.

Charges against a 12th less culpable suspect were dismissed by the prosecutor "in the interest of justice."

Bennett is still in the embryonic planning stages for his planned Organic Compassion medical marijuana dispensary. What he envisions is a tightly regulated medical facility where those who have legal prescriptions under California's Proposition 215 can come and relieve their pain, under the full letter of the law.

Yuba County District Attorney Patrick McGrath said he summoned the Marysville Healing Center's owner, Chander Sidher, to a meeting a week ago that included Yuba County Sheriff Steve Durfor. The purpose was to set Sidher straight regarding what circumstances such an operation could open.

Most of the defendants pleaded no contest either to illegal cultivation, possession of pot for sale, or maintaining a place where marijuana is used or sold, in return for a guarantee of probation.

Prosecutors said they will demand prison terms for two others who they regard as more culpable.

Supervisor Bob Williams proposed a new county ordinance to limit all medical marijuana gardens in unincorporated areas of the county to 25 plants and to keep them 1,000 feet or more from schools and school bus stops.

A judge is hearing evidence in the complicated case to determine whether 13 accused defendants should stand trial on felony charges of marijuana cultivation and possession of pot for sales.

A Butte County sheriff's investigator testified Wednesday that officers found medicinal marijuana scripts with many of the same patients' names on them posted during raids last September on five indoor and outdoor grows in the foothills near Berry Creek and Concow and a single residence in Chico.

County Counsel Jeanine Nadel said the details of the change in county code were still being debated in committee, but that the board could adopt the fee separately.

"In the meantime since it didn't appear we were going to have the ordinance resolved before July," she said, "we decided to bring the zip ties in to the master fee process so that zip ties can go on sale by July 1."

The council placed a moratorium on new dispensaries last year in order to allow time to develop medical marijuana dispensary guidelines that would be added to the city's land use codes. The moratorium is set to expire automatically on May 6, unless the city extends it.

The attorney for Bryan Epis, now in his early 40s, indicated she will request the Chico man be allowed to remain free on bail pending a re-hearing of the case before the full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal.

Epis was originally convicted by a federal jury in 2002 of conspiring to manufacture more than 1,000 marijuana plants out of his West Francis Willard Avenue residence.

Hidden Valley Lake Association directors held an initial discussion on the matter at the Feb. 12 board meeting.

Association Secretary Rick Munroe presented the matter, which arose because a Hidden Valley Lake resident had a portion of a marijuana plant stolen out of his yard and reported it to Hidden Valley Lake Security.

A federal judge in Fresno dismissed Grant Wilson's lawsuit that alleged false arrest by officers, a search-and-seizure civil rights violation and that he was held in jail longer than necessary.

The judge further ruled that Wilson couldn't file the case again.

Tahoe Wellness Collective opened in the Bijou Shopping Center on Jan. 8 and plans to offer marijuana to adults with state-issued medical marijuana cards or a doctor’s recommendation as soon as this week.

The council held a lengthy debate filled with disagreements and concerns over how to govern the dispensing of the drug within city boundaries at its Thursday night meeting.

Following a discussion that lasted about two hours, the council voted to form a sub-committee and begin evaluating options for supporting the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP) in the California Health and Safety Code. However, the council did indicate that it is possible that they may return with a decision to completely prohibit operations that provide medicinal marijuana in the city.

The marijuana trade is an exploding underground industry. Marijuana is being grown in homes, backyards, even in our national parks.

Shawn Paul Darghty was had grown six pot plants -- within the limit set by state law -- but had used someone's else's physician recommendation for medical marijuana, Sheriff''s Lt. Dave Greer said.

The recommendation is being brought forth by City Administrator Dale Neiman and Chief of Police Alan McClain. The issue is the fourth item of business on the city council's agenda following public comment and consent calendar. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. The city's legal representative is expected to be present.

The Council decided that there can only be four medical marijuana dispensaries in Arcata, and they will only be allowed in specific areas where they will not interfere with the surrounding community. If one dispensary closes, another cannot open in its place. Dispensaries are also unable to use more than 25 percent of their floor space or 1500 square feet, which ever is less, for growing marijuana. This limit could result in dispensaries not being able to produce enough medicine for their patients.

This clearly sets the limit on how much marijuana is allowed for patients or qualified caregivers in the county, at least for now.

"It's a challenge," said Mendocino County Assistant District Attorney Beth Norman. "We're filing an average of two cases a day every day."

The prosecutor had asked the Butte County Superior Court jury to convict Madeline McChesney, 32, of "willful criminal negligence" by putting her daughter at risk of great bodily harm or death.

In closing summation Thursday afternoon, McChesney's lawyer, Jodea Foster, argued the single mother simply made an "error in judgment," caused in part by several anti-depressant medications she was taking, and that the child was never at risk of serious harm.

Because the defendant's roommate, who had a medical marijuana prescription, normally left them on top of the refrigerator, the Chico mother asserted through her lawyer that she didn't realize the pan of brownies on the kitchen counter contained any pot until after giving her daughter a piece before taking her to school.

But deputy district attorney Kelly Maloy argued that explanation was at odds with her own daughter's claims that when she was given the drug-laced treat, her mother put her finger to her lips, saying, "Shhhh, don't tell anyone."

During a videotaped interview with Children's Services caseworkers, which was played during McChesney's trial, the 5-year-old recounted her mother gave her the brownies with "the special oil" about 10 times.

However, on the witness stand, the little
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Last week, the Board of Supervisors and the Health and Social Services Department were sued because Solano continues to disregard a state law that requires counties to issue identification cards to patients whose physicians legitimately prescribe marijuana for a serious medical condition.

But Mendocino County supervisors have no intention of taking up the issue.

"I put that in the ridiculous category," Supervisor John Pinches said Thursday.

The group, Americans for Safe Access, announced Monday that it would be seeking a writ of mandate -- basically an order to comply with existing law -- from Solano County Superior Court requiring that the county comply with California's Compassionate Use Act for medical marijuana users.

Americans for Safe Access filed the complaint in Solano County Superior Court. The group's chief counsel, Joe Elford, said the county has not complied with state law, and has refused to issue state identification cards to medical marijuana users.

The council at its Dec. 9 meeting unanimously agreed to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in Oakley, based on problems the pot clubs have caused in other cities. Residents with a doctor’s authorization will still be able to possess and grow their own, however.

The patient or primary caregiver must submit written documentation from a physician stating that the patient has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition and that the medical use of marijuana is appropriate, according to Shené Bowie, program coordinator for the county's Public Health Services Department.

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors in November approved the implementation of the state-mandated program for the county to provide identification cards for approved medical marijuana users.

Patient to Patient Collective opened early this month at 2314 Lake Tahoe Blvd.

A post on a message board at cannabis.com says the collective is distributing marijuana for medical use.

"This illegal operation consisted of thousands of marijuana plants worth millions of dollars and protected by handguns, shotguns and rifles," Attorney General Jerry Brown said in a release from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office. "These illegal growing operations are a threat to public safety."

The fee for a medical marijuana ID card was set at $156, which includes the current state fee of $66. Medi-Cal recipients would pay one-half or $78.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the Sonoma City Council took further steps toward setting up a licensing system that would allow a medical marijuana dispensary to open in Sonoma. The license would be a one-year permit, renewable upon verification of compliance and revocable at any moment if holder is non-compliant. Dispensaries could not be located within 100 feet of single-family residences, schools and parks. Growing or consuming marijuana on-site would be prohibited and the city would have the authority to do a third-party audit.

Richard McClure, 51, was arrested at a home on Butler Street in Grass Valley after authorities found him at a home with 60 marijuana plants. McClure was also found with $15,000 in cash in a vehicle on the property.

His arrest was part of a two-month operation that concluded Tuesday and netted the seizure of 2,100 marijuana plants and $625,000 in cash as well as rifles, shotguns and handguns. Most of the material was found in El Dorado County.

Stephen Gasparas has submitted a permit application to the county for The Rose Center, a proposed medical marijuana collective at 1551 Nursery Way in McKinleyville. Allowed under Proposition 215, the state’s medical marijuana law, a collective is a members-only group cultivation site for people with cannabis prescriptions. Gasparas’ application states that his collective would not be open to the public and would not dispense marijuana.

Liz Byrd, owner of Lakeside Herbal Solutions, was recently issued a business license only to have that license revoked. Byrd and her attorney William McPike, who specializes in medical marijuana defense, addressed the council at its Dec. 11 meeting appealing the revocation of the license. After a lengthy discussion that lasted more than hour, the council still made no decision and continued the item.

In late November, an Arcata-based developer Danco submitted a conditional use permit application to the Humboldt County Planning Commission for a new project called The Rose Center.

Liz Byrd of Lakeside Herbal Solutions went to the Clearlake City Council Thursday night to appeal the revocation of her business license. The city is pursuing the matter on the grounds that selling medical marijuana is prohibited under a city ordinance which prohibits any business that violates local, state or federal law.

Vallejo Patients Cooperative at 320 Mini Dr. was raided around 6 a.m. by a coalition of DEA agents, Vallejo police and Solano County Sheriff's deputies, local authorities said.

DEA special agent Casey McEnry said details of the investigation are under court seal so she could not say why the business was raided.

The Board of Supervisors has established a committee to explore and eventually implement the pot card program for medicinal users.

"This is the first proposal in the state for a county to regulate medical cannabis through land use requirements as a means to generate needed income for the County," stated de Vall in a release issued Thursday.

Sonoma County code enforcement officers said they are planning to serve notice on Alan MacFarlane that his Hull Street home is not in compliance with city codes, requiring the disabled veteran to take corrective action.

"This is the first proposal in the state for a county to regulate medical cannabis through land use requirements as a means to generate needed income for the County," stated de Vall in a release issued Thursday.

The council unanimously adopted the guidelines, which aim to regulate how dispensaries operate in hopes of curbing Proposition 215 abuse, with a clarification included regarding the amount of space cultivation can take place in.

When that behavior is growing "medicinal marijuana," the best approach may be civil penalties rather than criminal prosecution.

Two years ago in Butte County, they made 25 checks. This year, they've done more than 110.

The Butte County Sheriff's Office investigated reports of home invasion robberies, kidnappings and assaults by so-called DEA agents who seized medical marijuana.

The ordinance will be formally adopted at the council's Nov. 19 meeting.

Two men, say three Asian men forced their way into the house, and beat them up.

Investigators say the suspects may have been armed with a hand gun and some type of long gun.

The two victims escaped to a neighbors house to call police.

Larry Morris Fabisch, 54, of Nice was arrested early Saturday morning and booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of possessing more than 28.5 grams of marijuana, planting and cultivation, possession for sale and carrying loaded firearms in public.

The Sheriff's Office focuses its eradication efforts on commercial marijuana operations. We do not target legitimate medical marijuana patients or their caregivers. Commercial growers damage our environment. They contaminate our soils. They steal our water. They kill our wildlife and sometimes our livestock. They trespass on private property and threaten law abiding citizens who seek to enjoy our public lands.

As a home health nurse, I have had patients who are prescribed medical marijuana for their various aches and pains. Not one of these patients has been a cancer patient. These patients have been in their 30s to 40s and are prescribed not only medical pot but also a variety of strong narcotic painkillers. These patients are in my opinion multi-substance abusers who know how to work the system to get their drugs.

By a unanimous vote, the council decided last week to impose a 45-day moratorium on pot clubs. There are no such dispensaries in the city, nor have there been any applications.

For the first time since 1996, when the Compassionate Use Act was passed, the federal authorities have been charged with violating the 10th Amendment for harassing medical marijuana patients and state authorities.

The Mendocino County Health & Human Services Agency, Alcohol and Other Drug Programs Youth Services is presenting an in-depth look at the complex issues of marijuana in our society. A public information symposium will be held Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Willits Community Center.

Charles “Eddy” Lepp, 56, and co-defendant Daniel Barnes were found guilty of cultivating approximately 24,784 marijuana plants and conspiracy to possess the drug with the intent to distribute following a one-week jury trial in U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel's San Francisco courtroom.

A physician’s recommendation will grant a patient access to medicinal marijuana, as will a state-issued card. However, the guidelines do not specify that the two must be issued at the same time.

The horse that played Seabiscuit in the movie by the same name was there. The food was great. I sampled the Texas barbecue.

After a dozen years of sparring, state and federal authorities, have new guidelines to help legitimate patients avoid arrest. The new directive also spells out how to distinguish legal medical marijuana operations from illegal cultivators and criminal middlemen, which is supposed to make it easier for everyone involved.

"We evaluate each one on a case-by-case basis," says Deputy District Attorney Dan McConnell of the Willits office. "I've handled dozens of marijuana cases. My main thing is to give credence to medical needs, but to also stand for law enforcement."

The newspaper has been awarded first or second place in three categories: local breaking news, front-page presentations and editorial comment. Newspapers will learn which prize they've won during an Oct. 25 ceremony in Universal City.

The Medical Marijuana Caregivers Association of El Dorado County previously leased from a landlord who received written notice recently from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The notice said the agency had discovered the lease agreement between the caregivers association and the landlord, and warned the arrangement violated federal drug law.

1. Leadership, not politics. This is a small town, too small to engage in petty politics. Tagging a progressive person a “conservative” because they disagree with you is BS. Leave your personal agenda at home and work for what’s good and will work for all of Arcata. Remember the City cannot be responsible for everything. Good leaders listen and build coalitions to solve problems.

2. Innovative economic development. I’m sorry, but medical marijuana will not solve all of Arcata’s economic woes. To count on that is short-sighted. Arcata needs to be more nimble and diverse in attracting or creating businesses that are a good “fit” for this town, businesses that will create good jobs that inspire our kids to stay here and pay enough to allow people to actually work and live in Arcata. Then perhaps our roads will be paved, our schools will refill and our homeless will no longer be homeless.

Community Development Director Larry Oetker said the commission's approval may bring the guidelines, designed to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in hopes of curbing illegal grow activity, one step closer to completion.

Measure B, which was approved with approximately 52 percent of the vote, set medical marijuana limits in the county at six mature or 12 immature plants and eight ounces of dried marijuana, the same guidelines used by the state.

"A representative of the Yes on B Coalition will read a statement to the Board of Supervisors this Tuesday, at approximately 10 a.m. asking for action to protect the public from harmful impacts of marijuana cultivation," stated a portion of a release issued by the group. "There may be an opportunity for additional audience comment."

According to the release, the statement, developed by the steering committee, proposes that the supervisors:

1. Amend the existing county nuisance ordinance to name off-site marijuana odors as a nuisance.

2. Amend the nuisance ordinance to name off-site visibility of marijuana plants as a nuisance.

3. Amend the nuisance ordinance to make violation of the ordinance a criminal offense, rather than merely a civil offense.

4. Adopt a new ordinance to prevent dispensing of diesel fuel into unsafe tanks.

5. Adopt a new ordinance establishing a Medical Marijuana Impact Fee to be paid by all medical marijuana growers, with proceeds going into a Medical Marijuana Impact Fund to be used

The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, assisted by Campaign Against Marijuana Planting personnel, have eradicated 99,000 marijuana plants ranging from two feet to six feet tall. The value of those plants -- if they had reached maturity -- is estimated at $29.7 million, said the press release.

It takes guts to publicly take on a law enforcement official for a perceived lack of knowledge regarding the law.

The California Attorney General's Office is working on creating a set of guidelines for medical marijuana dispensaries, but because it's a work in progress, details are not being released yet, said Deputy Press Secretary Abraham Arredondo.

The break-in occurred at around midnight Wednesday at a home in the 700 block of Crinella Drive.

Police said the victim returned home from work to find the intruder, who wore dark clothes, gloves and a black ski mask.

The homeowner called police after he was ordered by the suspect to leave the house.

Police said 26 medical marijuana plants that were being grown at the home were stolen

On Tuesday, July 15, Arcata hosted Scott Burns, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, who is the Bush Administration’s second-in-command for drug regulation. After participating in marijuana raids in Eureka and points south and meeting with county officials, Burns traveled to what has apparently come to be known as America’s grow house capitol, the City of Arcata.

Attorney E. D. Lehrman and county residents Jim Hill and Paula Laguna have filled a notice of intention to circulate a petition that would put Measure G back on the ballot as soon as November.

The petitioners will have to gather 3,083 signatures in order to put the measure on the ballot. Mendocino County Assessor-Clerk-Recorder Susan Ranochak said the group still has a few more days but she added it is unlikely they will get the initiative onto the November ballot.

Deputies from the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office, along with officers from the state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, the state Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, the Drug Enforcement Agency and Immigration and Customs Enforcement served a search warrant on property on Island Mountain Wednesday morning.

At about 3 p.m. Tuesday, the Butte County Department of Employment and Social Services asked police to assist social and foster care agency workers to "decertify" foster parents of two teenagers, Oroville Police Chief Kirk Trostle said.

"We sent officers because it was getting to be a heated exchange," Trostle said.

The arrests were part of simultaneous raids that also occurred in San Francisco, Oakland and Antioch.

A multi-jurisdictional task force raided seven locations, including residences in Eureka, Fernbridge, Bridgeville and Loleta.

Now, a new wild card has popped up in the form of an announcement expected this week from the California Attorney General’s Office. Indications are that new guidelines for cannabis dispensaries may render moot some of the policy the Planco has been developing, not to mention undermine the stated wishes of some of Arcata’s cannabis outlets.

The city, hoping to have some sort of tool to navigate through Proposition 215 issues involving legal grows and the loss of residential housing, enlisted the help of the four existing dispensaries to begin drafting land use codes that would apply to medical marijuana dispensaries. It may be ready for the council to approve as early as next month.

By removing limits on the number of plants a medical marijuana patient or caregiver can grow and the amount of processed marijuana they can possess, the supervisors put the burden of determining how much is too much on law enforcement, patients and their doctors.

At Monday's meeting, the council heard a variety of public comment on the first reading of an ordinance to prohibit the establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries within the city limits. The second reading and adoption is scheduled for the council's second monthly meeting at 6 p.m. on July 21.

City officials stated the consideration was in order to better serve public health, safety and welfare for residences and businesses in the city.

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.

Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said the Sheriff's Office would be delaying enforcement of Measure B's new medical marijuana plant limits until Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke rules on the lawsuit filed by county residents George Hanamoto and Paula Laguna.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello filed two complaints for forfeiture identifying more than 20 parcels where federal agents reportedly found nearly 80 marijuana gardens and more than 12,000 plants during what they dubbed “Operation Southern Sweep.”

Citing pending legal challenges to local and state-approved limits, the Sheriff's Office and district attorney said they will temporarily not enforce the plant limits set forth in Measure B.

Federal Bureau of Investigations Special Agent Joseph Schadler said Tuesday that nearly 16,000 pot plants, nearly $200,000 in cash, 53 guns, two vehicles, five generators, a trailer and five all-terrain vehicles were seized from the grow houses, homes and a nearly 2,000-acre land parcel between both counties that were searched last week.

In papers filed Tuesday, July 1, Humboldt Medical Supply (HMS) asks that the Planco’s decision, later upheld by the City Council, be stayed so that it may cultivate cannabis at its new facility at 855 Eighth Street next to the Arcata Post Office.

The written response could serve to prevent live Congressional hearings on the propriety of the raids. U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has fielded numerous complaints and requests for hearings on the matter, according to Conyers' April 29 letter to the DEA.

The innocuous store, which bears no sign other than one that says "Open," and has reflective glass preventing outsiders from peering inside, has been operating since April, according to city records.

The Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team was conducting a reconnaissance of a potential marijuana operation site at about 10:30 that Thursday morning. After agents noticed and conducted a surveillance of a male roaming the area, the man, 20-year-old Miguel Martinez, was detained and then arrested. Agents also discovered firearm ammunition, and evidence of possibly more people in the area. The enforcement team sought the help of the Amador County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team, which arrived on the scene and searched the area for any addition suspects. No other subjects were found at the site. Agents seized 2,872 marijuana plants from the area.

The big target was a 2,000-acre operation in southern Humboldt County. Along the way, some 450 federal, state and local law enforcement personnel used 29 search warrants to raid grow houses and other facilities in Arcata, McKinleyville, Miranda, Phillipsville, Redway, Ettersburg, Whitethorn and Shelter Cove. This netted them some 10,000 marijuana plants with a street value of $25 million to $50 million, $160,000 in cash, firearms and a vehicle. At this writing, no arrests have been made, but the team seems to be on the track of the operators who are described as not a Mexican cartel, but “homegrown.”

Even still, they weren’t in the loop when the federal agents finally arrived to do their business.

The raids, focused mainly in Southern Humboldt, also brought agents to Arcata, where one house was reportedly raided. In Southern Humboldt, residents woke up to tales of convoys of federal agents driving through the southern part of the county, while residents elsewhere heard the news through online media and radio reports.

In a “joint news release,” Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Joseph Schadler said officers found about 10,000 marijuana plants estimated to be worth between $25 million and $50 million on the street in what’s been dubbed “Operation Southern Sweep.”

"They are not Mexican drug traffickers," he said. "They are home grown."

All 29 warrants have been served and no additional warrants have been issued as a result of those warrants, Schadler said.

The commission will take up discussion tonight of draft standards on medical marijuana dispensaries; design criteria including signage and storefront display; monitoring approved dispensaries; and fees.

Both suspects are still at-large and the Del Norte County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident.

"We presume the purpose was to come in and steal medical marijuana plants that belonged to the victim," Detective Sgt. Steve Morris said. "It appears that they took what they could carry, three or four plants, and took off."

On Wednesday, the Arcata City Council voted to extend an interim ordinance that places a temporary moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, growing and processing operations for an additional 10 months and 15 days.

After personally treating patients who have injured either themselves or others while under influence of marijuana, I organized a petition on behalf of the medical community to reduce the plant number down to state standards. The petition was presented to the Board of Supervisors, but neglected in The Triplicate's coverage of the meeting.

"People are getting fed up," said Sheriff's Lt. Rusty Noe.

County Clerk Sue Ranochak said the outcome might be known Friday. “We’re as eager as everyone else to get it done,” said Ranochak.

The Federal Drug Enforcement Agency is sending 200 agents to Northern Humboldt to crack down on marijuana growers, according to sources. The full-blown bust-a-thon will take place June 22-30.

A California court of appeals ruled last month that the restrictions on the amount of marijuana a patient can possess and cultivate outlined in Senate Bill 420, passed in 2003, are unconstitutional, causing counties across the state to rethink their medical marijuana ordinances.

Regardless of the outcome, the closeness of the vote in a county recognized nationwide for its tolerance of marijuana use signals a major change in the public's attitude toward lenient pot laws.

Residents and law enforcement officials have been reconsidering local regulations on growing and possessing pot as a result of problems associated with big-money pot growing operations, The New York Times reported Monday.

As she and her husband, Dante Vitullo, reminisced about that time, they smiled at one another, remembering her vitality.

Measure B appeared to win Tuesday by a 52-48 percent margin, amounting to 701 votes, in a closely watched election that has attracted national attention.

Voters on Tuesday leaned toward repealing a law allowing home marijuana growing, according to preliminary results of a ballot measure vote released on Wednesday.

Critics say a cottage industry had grown out of control.

With 100 percent of the precincts reporting at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday, Measure B was winning 52.15 percent to 47.85 percent. The Elections Office recorded a 34.94 percent turnout for the election and counted 16,436 ballots.

Clients, volunteers and officials at Medical Marijuana Caregivers Association of El Dorado County applaud the passage May 28 of Assembly Bill 2279, introduced in February by Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said Elaine Roller, volunteer.

Measure B, which is before voters Tuesday, would repeal the 2000 ballot measure and set the county plant limit for medical marijuana consistent with state standards, now at six per person.

"Take Back Our County" signs sprouted around the county faster than inch-high marijuana seedlings being nurtured by indoor grow lights.

But eight years later, some are campaigning to scale back the local law, saying it's time to weed out pot profiteers in this rugged region of Northern California.

But eight years later, some are campaigning to scale back the law, saying it's time to weed out pot profiteers.

"We want to take that welcome mat away," said Ross Liberty, spokesman for Measure B, which goes before Mendocino County voters Tuesday.

But now a backlash is underway in this liberal corner of California.

At issue is whether Mendocino voters in next week's election can adopt state standards that were just declared unconstitutional by a state Court of Appeal in Los Angeles.

Ken Estes' Holistic Solutions on Olympic Drive was the site of an enforcement action by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, accompanied by the Lake County Narcotic Task Force.

But now a backlash is under way in this liberal corner of California.

The case in question, People v. Kelly, involves a patient who was convicted of possessing seven plants and 12 ounces of processed marijuana. In its May 22 decision, the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District reversed that ruling 3-0 and ordered a retrial for Patrick Kelly, who had a doctor's recommendation for his ailments including Hepatitis C.

It was a homecoming for Harris, a well-known character who had run for a Woodland council seat in 1990.

Zack Sampsel, 26, Shannon Wickliffe, 24, Nathaniel Wickliffe, 29, Kathy Wickliffe, 52, and Terrence Wickliffe, 50, were being booked into the Mendocino County jail Thursday evening, authorities said.

Measure G was enacted as Chapter 9.36 and is known as the "Cannabis Personal Use Ordinance for Mendocino County." Below are summarized some the provisions of the code:

Decriminalization of Cannabis in California: The board of supervisors is directed to lobby state and federal governments for the immediate decriminalization of the personal use of cannabis, including possession, transportation, and cultivation.

While medical marijuana users say Mendocino's current law is humane, those supporting Measure B say pot cultivation is growing out of control.

Mendocino County is known for its rugged natural beauty, lush redwood forests, rolling hills. But it is also known for widespread marijuana cultivation.

Repeal proponents under the banner of "Yes on Measure B" had a nearly 5-1 spending edge in the early weeks of a campaign aimed at ending the county's national reputation as a haven for marijuana growers.

Pinon and board Chairman Bill Jack voted to support the resolution; voting in opposition were trustees Cynthia Carni, Robert Kirkpatrick and Bob Harper.

A man and woman armed with a handgun took about 12 pounds of processed pot Thursday afternoon from the 43-year-old resident of

Therese Trace. The robbery apparently was not a random act, said department spokeswoman Melanie Oakes.

Rexrode was arrested Oct. 17, 2005, after California Department of Fish and Game law enforcement Lt. Lynette Shimeck found evidence of marijuana cultivation while investigating reports that Rexrode had a mountain lion cub at his Old Caspar Railroad Crossing property.

The complaints ranged from noxious odors from mature marijuana plants, increased traffic and disturbances, diminished sense of security and inability to use outdoor areas because of the odor.

"We want the public to be aware that this illegal activity and occupation is taking place if they encounter marijuana gardens on the national forest," said Forest Supervisor Tom Contreras.

They could consider it a referendum on the performance of the entire board in terms of its oversight of county government and its ability to play a lead role in promoting a brighter economic future for the region. Votes on the five-member board are often unanimous, after all.

An angry Allman ended weeks of neutrality in an increasingly acrimonious campaign surrounding Measure B, which -- if approved in the June 3 election -- will sharply reduce the number of plants allowed to be grown for personal use from 25 to 6.

Not only must the council find a way to exert needed local controls amid a complicated California law, Proposition 215, that has so many holes that it allows a virtually unfettered market for marijuana. It also must recognize the dangers to its community. Arcata is on a slippery slope to becoming the doper capital of the North Coast, if it hasn't reached that status already.

California law allows qualified patients to grow and possess marijuana for medical use. The quantity recommended under state guidelines, and followed by 84 percent of counties, is six mature or 12 immature plants, plus 8 ounces of dried marijuana. However, some county boards have enacted stricter laws (such as San Diego, where no marijuana may be grown of possessed) or more liberal limits (including Del Norte, where 99 plants and 1 pound are allowed).

Dr. Philip Denney says he plans to appeal the decision handed down recently by Senior Judge Lawrence K. Karlton of the U.S. Eastern District Court in Sacramento.

The council took a step in that direction during Wednesday’s meeting when it adopted an interim ordinance creating a temporary moratorium on the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, growing and processing operations.

U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott had scoffed at the former electrician's self-proclaimed role as a health care provider, depicting him as just a narcotics trafficker trying to hide behind a state law allowing marijuana use on a doctor's recommendation.

There is no conflict between Lintott's pledge to protect the rights of medical marijuana patients and caregivers and the provisions of Measure B, Lintott says in a written statement.

"Measure G has become a barrier that greatly complicates the prosecution of solid cases, even where there is overwhelming evidence of commercial cultivation, possession, transportation and sales," Lintott said. "The defense attorneys never fail to cite Measure G as a defense for those violating the laws against commercial marijuana. This is true even for the largest growing operations."

Almost miraculously, that didn’t happen. Though official decisions aren’t taken at study sessions, the council, which has been divided regarding commercial cannabis, nonetheless achieved a rough consensus on dispensary issues. By meeting’s end, councilmembers, staff, clinicians and members of the public were chatting amicably amid a palpable sense of progress, if not complete resolution.

Measure B, which was placed on the ballot by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors in January, would repeal Measure G and set medical marijuana limits in Mendocino County at the state limits of six mature or 12 immature plants and eight ounces of dried marijuana.

At the beginning of the meeting we were asked to wait until the last item scheduled because of the amount of people attending. This way all who wanted to speak, could. All kindly agreed.

The people were given 15 minutes to speak on these other items. Some spoke less and some longer. Those that spoke longer got a kindly, "Thank you for speaking, but your time is up."

Jeffre Sanderson and Alice Wiegand said they grew pot for medical and spiritual purposes, but the federal government doesn't recognize California's medical marijuana law, which allows people to legally grow and use marijuana for medical purposes.

The council previously considered the item in February and decided not to take a position at that time, electing to host a forum on Measure B instead. The item was eventually placed on the agenda after dozens of area residents requested the council to reconsider its stance at its April 2 meeting. Recognizing the importance of the decision, Vice Mayor Phil Baldwin tried to explain the magnitude of such an endorsement.

Shasta Interagency Narcotics Task Force Commander Robert Knill said one of the "primary prescription-drug dealers" in the Redding area, Linda Maureen Dunn, 44, and her two alleged accomplices were arrested Monday after a monthlong undercover operation.

The San Francisco office of the National Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has put up $1,000, and is likely to contribute more, according to representatives. In addition, a Santa Rosa-based marijuana advocacy group called Organic Cannabis Foundation has contributed $500 toward local efforts to defeat Measure B on the June primary ballot.

Some of the best-known doctors in the Ukiah Valley joined three dozen others in the medical community to endorse Measure B. If passed in the upcoming June primary, the initiative would impose new local restrictions on the amount of pot individuals may grow and use.

By that I mean it started out very peaceful until Scheduled Item No. 5 was up for consideration. It was the ordinance of the Del Norte County Code related to the marijuana guidelines for the implementation of Proposition 215.

Members from both groups answered marijuana-related questions submitted by the audience, including how Measure B would stop large-scale and trespass grows, what defines a commercial grow and how the police would fund and enforce Measure B.

Each group was given four minutes to make its opening statements during which the Yes on B Coalition, represented by John McCowen and Ross Liberty, painted a grim picture of the state of marijuana growing in Mendocino County.

A majority of doctors in the Ukiah Valley, the hub of the county’s medical care, publicly endorsed Measure B, which would if passed in the June primary sharply restrict the amount of pot individuals may grow and use.

According to financial filing documents, the Green Party Working Group for No on Measure B has raised a total of $800 as of March 24.

That money has come from three separate donations from the California office of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

The sole "No on B" supporter was thanked by the council for having the courage to speak.

Thomas Michael Klassy, 54, was charged with practicing medicine without a certificate and advertising as a doctor without a valid certificate. He is scheduled to appear in court June 4, Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Susan Gravenkamp said today.

The petition, which was not mentioned in The Triplicate's coverage, included the signatures of over 40 health care providers, including our two trauma, two resident emergency room physicians, obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon, hospitalist, as well as family practice, pediatric and internal medicine specialists.

One logically thinking can't understand the big deal of marijuana and the growth, when meth is the more serious problem.

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.

"It's not enough," one man yelled from the crowd.

As it stands now, a patient can grow enough medication indoors in four months to last a year. The proposed changes will force ill patients to work year round to cultivate medication indoors. This will cause an unnecessary financial burden by drastically increasing their electrical bill. It will cause security problems for these chronically ill patients because bad people will know they grow all the time and they are easy victims. Instead of being stressed and frightened for four months a year and get a break, we will be forced to live with the stress endlessly. This will cause additional health problems for us. That covers those of us that can afford the equipment and cost to grow indoors.

The Board of Supervisors will revisit a local medical marijuana ordinance and consider drastically lowering the amount of pot that can legally be grown or possessed.

Current medical marijuana laws in the county allow a person to have up to 99 plants in a 100-square-foot cultivation area and possess up to a pound of processed pot. A new ordinance would lower these numbers to six plants and four ounces.

Joseph Charles Denson, 30, of Vallejo, was taken to a Sonoma County hospital for treatment, said Mendocino County Sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.

The card, which will cost $126, was approved by county supervisors Tuesday. The card is meant to provide uniformity across the state and give law enforcement an easier way to verify legal use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Suzanne Nobles, director of the county's health and human services department, said roughly half of that fee will go to the state for administrative work and half will stay in Yuba County.

Supervisors adopted the fees in a 4-1 vote with Chairman Dan Logue being the lone dissenting vote.

The matter returned before the council in the form of two appeals of Planning Commission determinations on a building permit application in relation to the Arcata Land Use and Development Guide.

On Feb. 26, the Planning Commission determined that dispensing marijuana is a “medical office” type use and that growing of medical marijuana as proposed by the applicants is an agricultural use in accordance with the LUDG — meaning it would not be permissible at the applicants’ facility, located at 601 I St. in the central business district.

Both Richard Johnson of the Mendocino County Green Party and Edie Lerman, on behalf of Paula A. Laguna and George Hanamoto, filed separate lawsuits Thursday and Wednesday, respectively, to try to keep Measure B off the June 3 ballot.

Cool professionals Marion “Molly” Fry, a doctor, and her lawyer husband, Dale Schafer, were found guilty by a federal jury of all charges.

The couple said they have been unfairly targeted and that the pot they were growing was completely legal and allowed under the California Compassionate Use Act.

Measure B, which was placed on the ballot by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 8, would repeal Measure G, passed by Mendocino County voters in 2000.

Measure G, the cannabis personal use ordinance, instructed law enforcement officers to make prosecution of anyone growing fewer than 25 marijuana plants their lowest priority. Late last year, the Board of Supervisors agreed to set medical marijuana limits at 25 plants in accordance with Measure G.

In January Ron Dixon, 55, had pleaded no contest to maintaining a place for the sale of a controlled substance. The plea was the result of a plea bargain.

By refusing to take an official position on Measure B, Sheriff Tom Allman had hoped to stay out of a divisive debate. Emotions are running high over an underground marijuana economy that now dwarfs legitimate agriculture production including timber harvesting.

Dr. Mollie Fry and Dale Schaffer were convicted of growing and selling medical marijuana in the small Sierra town of Cool. Fry prescribed the drug through her clinic. Schafer often taught patients how to grow marijuana.

Dr. Marion "Mollie" Fry, and her husband, Dale Schafer, were convicted in August.

Fry and Schafer were charged with growing and selling in their hometown of Cool.

U. S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. said federal law left him with no choice but to impose the mandatory minimum sentence in each case.

It’s a flower shop.

That’s the basis of an appeal filed last Friday, March 7 by the booming cannabis vendor at Sixth and I streets.

At its Feb. 26 meeting, the Planning Commission determined that commercial marijuana cultivation is agriculture, and that agriculture is not allowed in the Central Businesses District (CBD). Cannabis vendors THC and the Humboldt Patient Resource Center both maintain massive marijuana grows and are both located in the CBD. So is the new Humboldt Medical Supply cannabis clinic, which had prepared grow rooms but not yet begun cultivation.

U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. was not pleased.

Co-defense counsel Laurence Lichter informed the judge that Serra was in Stockton waiting for a jury to return a verdict in a "shaken-baby murder case."

U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. was not pleased.

Co-defense counsel Laurence Lichter informed the judge that Serra is waiting in Stockton for a deliberating jury to return a verdict in a "shaken baby murder case."

Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband, attorney Dale Schafer, were to be sentenced Thursday morning on federal marijuana cultivation and distribution charges. The couple runs the Medical Research Center in Cool, and their case has been a rallying cry for medical marijuana advocates who say the federal government should not interfere with the state's medicinal marijuana law.

The denial, which may be appealed to the City Council, renders moot a similar building permit application by the just-opened Humboldt Medical Supply (HMS) dispensary.

Lynnette Shaw, director of the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, has obtained a temporary restraining order against Jeffrey Rifkind, the spokesman for We Deliver, a new medical marijuana delivery service that began operating in Marin earlier this month.

Assembly Bill 2279, introduced to the assembly last week by Assemblyman Mark Leno and co-authored by Berg, aims to prohibit employers from letting go of employees for using medical marijuana away from the workplace in compliance with state law. The bill is a direct response to a recent California Supreme Court ruling, and is drawing praise from some local attorneys.

Craver, who has been retired since December 2006 and is living in Idaho, acknowledged that the county's pot production is "clearly out of hand."

But it’s still uncertain whether the state-overseen and state-authorized program –– which remains voluntary for marijuana-medicating patients under the 11-year-old Proposition 214 Compassionate Use Act –– will take hold.

Neighboring El Dorado County established its own ID program under state guidelines in mid-August and has issued 13 cards.

Addison DeMoura, who owns Oakdale Natural Choice Collective Inc., was arrested after county drug enforcement agents and the Oakdale Police Department raided the dispensary and his home on July 31. He has not been charged.

Larry Roger Kristich, 65, who returned from Costa Rica last summer after being indicted, pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to one count of maintaining drug-involved premises and one count of promotional money laundering. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Kristich also agreed to forfeit more than $1.2 million cash generated by sales at his stores.

Alexander Balestrero was booked on suspicion of cultivation of marijuana, felony child endangerment and a felony warrant involving firearm possession, said Jeff Catchings, task force commander for the South Lake El Dorado Narcotics Enforcement Team. The arrest came after SLEDNET agents served a search warrant at the home on Beaver Brae, Catchings said.

Deputy Fire Marshal Teri Israel, a 13-year employee with the Ukiah Fire Department, and two other people at her home were arrested for marijuana cultivation Friday afternoon, said sheriff's Lt. Rusty Noe.

Ron Dixon, 55, the ex-owner of Dixon Herbs on Merchant Street, pleaded no contest Tuesday to maintaining a place for the sale of a controlled substance, a felony.

The regulations will soon reflect the change that when marijuana is prescribed by a physician it is determined to be a medicine, said Sarah, the representative, who refused to reveal her surname.

In order to be exempt from sales tax, the business must conform to Regulation 1591, which states in part that the item must qualify as a medicine, said the representative.

The board took no action because a majority of board members concluded the county is not currently having any problems with medical marijuana dispensaries. There are currently three dispensaries in the county: two in the Ukiah area and one in the Fort Bragg area.

Michael Brasch, 56, and Mary Brasch, 48, were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of cultivating marijuana, and possessing marijuana and drugs, spokeswoman Susan Gravenkamp said.

A poll of Mendocino County voters show most favor repeal of Measure G, a landmark marijuana initiative that was the first in the nation to decriminalize pot use.

Poll results also ranked local concerns about illicit drugs above job, growth, immigration and environmental issues.

Measure G was approved by 58.5 percent of county voters in November 2000. Under the initiative's provisions, marijuana cultivation and possession to be given the lowest priority by county law enforcement officers, and the district attorney's office was not forbidden to prosecute any marijuana case involving 25 or fewer adult, flowering plants or the equivalent amount of dried marijuana.

The county Board of Supervisors, on a 4-1 vote Tuesday, upheld the county treasurer-tax collector's decision not to renew a business license for the Medical Marijuana Caregivers Association of El Dorado County, which operates a medical marijuana dispensary on Alhambra Drive in Cameron Park. Matt Vaughn, the association's founder and chief executive officer, said he would sue the county, arguing that the county's action violates the Compassionate Use Act approved by California voters in 1996.

As she talks about her ordeal, Cates' wrinkled face breaks into frequent half-smiles. Her fingers fiddle with a diamond cross around her neck. Her frizzy white hair is neatly clipped with a barrette. Her bangs brush the top of her prescription glasses.

In an effort to overcome the obstacles raised in the raid tactics the DEA employed in earlier attempts to circumvent a compassionate community of medical cannabis connoisseurs, the feds have resorted to sending letters to landlords who rent commercial space to medical cannabis providers, first in Southern California back in July and more recently here in the Bay area. Landlords who own space occupied by medical cannabis dispensaries in Marin, San Francisco, and Alameda counties received letters the second week in December.

An estimated 95 percent of patients visiting "pot docs" are already significant pot users seeking approval for their drug use, and a small group of physicians are willing to fulfill their request.

Measure G won by a 58-42 percent margin and was seen then as a way for local people to use up to 25 marijuana plants per individual for medical reasons without fear of prosecution.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to support the ordinance, which mirrors ordinances adopted by the cities of Modesto, Ceres, Merced, Patterson, Atwater and Los Banos. Many other cities have moratoriums on dispensaries.

The politically active portion of the community is still divided along lines that were drawn almost 40 years ago, when the first hippies started showing up in Arcata and Eureka and Garberville. The age-old struggle for power between the two creaky old battalions, each of which grows more tedious by the year, hasn’t really gone away. In 2007, though, the lines got blurry.

City staff is requesting the council provide direction in preparing draft standards for personal marijuana growing in residential zones based on Senate Bill 420 guidelines and one Proposition 215 recommendation per residence, according to a staff report.

Once standards are established, staff is recommending they be incorporated into the draft land-use code through a public hearing process before the Planning Commission and then taken to the City Council for adoption.

Aaron, the owner, refused to reveal his surname and said the added security measures were a precaution to ward off attempts at thievery or worse.

"The fence creates a natural barrier," he said, standing outside his business on Friday. "The outside gate is always locked and patients come and knock when they want to come in. We've got several layers of security, including closed circuit cameras around the front and back. It's pretty high-tech."

In recent weeks, DEA agents have sent letters to their landlords warning them of jail time, stiff fines and even forfeiture of their property if landlords allow tenants to peddle pot.

The letters have "definitely caused a panic," said Nathan Sands, a spokesman for the Compassionate Coalition, a medical marijuana education group.

Supervisors Jim Wattenburger, Kendall Smith and David Colfax voted for the measure; while supervisors John Pinches and Michael Delbar opposed it.

Sacramento-based agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have sent nearly a dozen letters out in the last month to dispensaries' landlords in the latest effort against medical marijuana.

However, medical marijuana advocates - who saw about 200 DEA letters roll out near Los Angeles this summer - say federal officials are being too heavy-handed against something California voters approved a decade ago.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a permanent injunction issued by a federal trial judge in 2002 against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana and Ukiah Cannabis Buyer's Club.

"The AGs office will now evaluate the case and make a finding on it. The AG may send it back to Mendocino County to handle or pursue it in Sacramento, depending upon what they find," says Assistant District Attorney Beth Norman.

Cash earned from urban buyers was welcomed in poor, rural communities with long histories of chronic poverty.

But those days are gone.