Robert Celt
New Member
The Butte County Board of Supervisor's chambers were packed Tuesday as Code Enforcement gave a report on their first year of medical marijuana regulations.
Measure A, passed by voters in November of 2014, brought about some restrictions to growing in Butte County.
The "Stay in the Box" campaign worked to keep medical marijuana grows contained by area, not by how many plants they have.
Now a year into the enforcement, officials reported their progress.
In 2015, nearly 35,000 medical marijuana plants were destroyed, 11 arrests were made, three butane honey oil labs were discovered and 19 cases went to nuisance abatement hearings.
The county also received more than $170,000 of revenue from citations. That money went to the general fund.
"I am extremely happy with it," Code Enforcement Supervisor Chris Jellison said of the recap of the year. "Like I said, it's going to be a process that changes every year but eventually, hopefully, we streamline it to where it's the perfect process."
The meeting then turned to adjustments for the current year.
County council proposed amendments to the previous ordinance.
Changes include abandoning citations for a letter of notice and a fine and only requiring the county to prove a violation exists at the time it was originally set for a hearing.
They also proposed to make administrative civil penalties be recoverable and to change the time owners have to abate the nuisance to 10 days from the date a hearing officer's decision is placed in the mail.
Some in attendance supported what the county is doing. Others did not.
Denise Lassard, a cannabis patient, said she worries for people like herself.
"I'm concerned that the patients are getting lost in all this process," Lassard said. "That the limiting of the size limits the abilities of people to give their script to someone and basically under the new legislation, our scripts are no good to give someone as a collective grow. So my question to the board is what are people, who can't farm, who are disabled, what are they supposed to do for medicine."
The supervisors waived this first reading of the amended ordinance.
It will come back at the January 26 meeting for the board to consider adopting.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: California: Update On Medical Marijuana Regulation Packs Meeting
Author: Stephanie Barnes
Contact: abc7
Photo Credit: Natalie Orenstein
Website: abc7
Measure A, passed by voters in November of 2014, brought about some restrictions to growing in Butte County.
The "Stay in the Box" campaign worked to keep medical marijuana grows contained by area, not by how many plants they have.
Now a year into the enforcement, officials reported their progress.
In 2015, nearly 35,000 medical marijuana plants were destroyed, 11 arrests were made, three butane honey oil labs were discovered and 19 cases went to nuisance abatement hearings.
The county also received more than $170,000 of revenue from citations. That money went to the general fund.
"I am extremely happy with it," Code Enforcement Supervisor Chris Jellison said of the recap of the year. "Like I said, it's going to be a process that changes every year but eventually, hopefully, we streamline it to where it's the perfect process."
The meeting then turned to adjustments for the current year.
County council proposed amendments to the previous ordinance.
Changes include abandoning citations for a letter of notice and a fine and only requiring the county to prove a violation exists at the time it was originally set for a hearing.
They also proposed to make administrative civil penalties be recoverable and to change the time owners have to abate the nuisance to 10 days from the date a hearing officer's decision is placed in the mail.
Some in attendance supported what the county is doing. Others did not.
Denise Lassard, a cannabis patient, said she worries for people like herself.
"I'm concerned that the patients are getting lost in all this process," Lassard said. "That the limiting of the size limits the abilities of people to give their script to someone and basically under the new legislation, our scripts are no good to give someone as a collective grow. So my question to the board is what are people, who can't farm, who are disabled, what are they supposed to do for medicine."
The supervisors waived this first reading of the amended ordinance.
It will come back at the January 26 meeting for the board to consider adopting.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: California: Update On Medical Marijuana Regulation Packs Meeting
Author: Stephanie Barnes
Contact: abc7
Photo Credit: Natalie Orenstein
Website: abc7