Truth Seeker
New Member
With the vote last week that voided Butte County's medical marijuana cultivation ordinance, the question is what's next.
Tuesday, Butte County voters soundly rejected Measure A, a referendum on the county's land use ordinance that put strict limitations on where medical marijuana gardens can be planted, and on how many plants can be grown on what size parcels of land.
"The ordinance that the board passed was rejected, so we do not have an ordinance (now)," according to Paul Hahn, Butte County's chief administrative officer.
"We are back to where we started in a technical, legal sense. That was rejected by the voters, which is their right obviously," said the CAO.
Some hints of what might be coming next may surface during Tuesday's board meeting.
Hahn said he is going to ask the board, during his regular remarks to the panel, if they want to have a discussion of Measure A and/or a new marijuana ordinance put on a future agenda.
Since the voters rejected Measure A, the board is prohibited from reintroducing the same ordinance again for at least one year. But according to Hahn, they could move on a "substantially different" proposal immediately. He explained the precise legal definition of "substantially different" is not itself entirely clear.
The ordinance voided by Tuesday's vote was crafted by the supervisors after a series of intense public hearings where smaller groups of individuals living in residential neighborhoods begged the board to keep pot gardens away.
They complained about the smell of the plants, sometimes known as "skunk weed," and they said they were afraid of the violence and even gunfights that have broken out when people tried to steal somebody's plants.
On the other side, a much larger group of people came before the supervisors to describe their need for the marijuana as "medicine." They claimed the county could not regulate marijuana gardens because that right was pre-empted by way of Proposition 215. The pro-marijuana faction threatened to recall any supervisors who supported the ordinance, and even said the use of the "herb" was a God-given right and the panel risked celestial judgment if they didn't do the right thing.
Board Chair Supervisor Steve Lambert, who was re-elected Tuesday to his 4th District seat after running unopposed, said he was disappointed by the way the whole process played out last year.
"I think we bit off more than we can chew," said Lambert.
He said he thinks the county needs a cultivation ordinance but needs to reach out to the community and find a way to strike a balance with the competing needs.
Hahn said crafting a new ordinance is made more difficult because what is legal and acceptable to the courts is a moving target.
In the two years since the idea of a cultivation measure first began percolating in county government, "things have changed," according to Hahn.
He said there have been court cases on the local and appellate level that have a bearing on what the county can regulate.
"Now the feds are certainly putting their two cents into the legality of marijuana in California," Hahn said.
The ordinance behind Measure A was a land use regulation that had no criminal or law enforcement aspect to it.
Hahn said, in the absence of any local regulation, control of marijuana cultivation falls back on law enforcement.
The Butte County District Attorney's website lists a series of "guidelines" it says are to help growers avoid legal troubles.
Among the guidelines is a statement that says, "Do not grow more than six mature or 12 immature plants at any one time. A plant is considered mature at the point where the sex of the plant is apparent."
The guidelines also caution, "Do not possess more than one pound of dried marijuana at any one time."
Public meeting
Butte County Board of Supervisors
9 a.m. Tuesday
Supervisors Chambers
25 County Center Drive, Oroville
Staff writer Roger H. Aylworth can be reached at 896-7762, raylworth@ chicoer.com, or on Twitter @RogerAylworth .
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: orovillemr.com
Author: Roger Aylworth
Contact: Contact Us - Oroville Mercury Register
Website: Butte supervisors to be asked if they want to revisit marijuana garden rules - Oroville Mercury Register
Tuesday, Butte County voters soundly rejected Measure A, a referendum on the county's land use ordinance that put strict limitations on where medical marijuana gardens can be planted, and on how many plants can be grown on what size parcels of land.
"The ordinance that the board passed was rejected, so we do not have an ordinance (now)," according to Paul Hahn, Butte County's chief administrative officer.
"We are back to where we started in a technical, legal sense. That was rejected by the voters, which is their right obviously," said the CAO.
Some hints of what might be coming next may surface during Tuesday's board meeting.
Hahn said he is going to ask the board, during his regular remarks to the panel, if they want to have a discussion of Measure A and/or a new marijuana ordinance put on a future agenda.
Since the voters rejected Measure A, the board is prohibited from reintroducing the same ordinance again for at least one year. But according to Hahn, they could move on a "substantially different" proposal immediately. He explained the precise legal definition of "substantially different" is not itself entirely clear.
The ordinance voided by Tuesday's vote was crafted by the supervisors after a series of intense public hearings where smaller groups of individuals living in residential neighborhoods begged the board to keep pot gardens away.
They complained about the smell of the plants, sometimes known as "skunk weed," and they said they were afraid of the violence and even gunfights that have broken out when people tried to steal somebody's plants.
On the other side, a much larger group of people came before the supervisors to describe their need for the marijuana as "medicine." They claimed the county could not regulate marijuana gardens because that right was pre-empted by way of Proposition 215. The pro-marijuana faction threatened to recall any supervisors who supported the ordinance, and even said the use of the "herb" was a God-given right and the panel risked celestial judgment if they didn't do the right thing.
Board Chair Supervisor Steve Lambert, who was re-elected Tuesday to his 4th District seat after running unopposed, said he was disappointed by the way the whole process played out last year.
"I think we bit off more than we can chew," said Lambert.
He said he thinks the county needs a cultivation ordinance but needs to reach out to the community and find a way to strike a balance with the competing needs.
Hahn said crafting a new ordinance is made more difficult because what is legal and acceptable to the courts is a moving target.
In the two years since the idea of a cultivation measure first began percolating in county government, "things have changed," according to Hahn.
He said there have been court cases on the local and appellate level that have a bearing on what the county can regulate.
"Now the feds are certainly putting their two cents into the legality of marijuana in California," Hahn said.
The ordinance behind Measure A was a land use regulation that had no criminal or law enforcement aspect to it.
Hahn said, in the absence of any local regulation, control of marijuana cultivation falls back on law enforcement.
The Butte County District Attorney's website lists a series of "guidelines" it says are to help growers avoid legal troubles.
Among the guidelines is a statement that says, "Do not grow more than six mature or 12 immature plants at any one time. A plant is considered mature at the point where the sex of the plant is apparent."
The guidelines also caution, "Do not possess more than one pound of dried marijuana at any one time."
Public meeting
Butte County Board of Supervisors
9 a.m. Tuesday
Supervisors Chambers
25 County Center Drive, Oroville
Staff writer Roger H. Aylworth can be reached at 896-7762, raylworth@ chicoer.com, or on Twitter @RogerAylworth .
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: orovillemr.com
Author: Roger Aylworth
Contact: Contact Us - Oroville Mercury Register
Website: Butte supervisors to be asked if they want to revisit marijuana garden rules - Oroville Mercury Register
