T
The420Guy
Guest
MEDFORD -- When drug-enforcement officers fly over Jackson County in search
of marijuana, they can't always confiscate the plants they spot.
Increasingly, when officials spot growing marijuana during a flyover or get
a complaint from neighbors, they discover that the property owner has the
state's approval to grow medical marijuana, said Lt. Dewey Patten,
commander of Jackson County Narcotics Enforcement Team.
In Jackson County, 335 people had state-issued medical-marijuana cards at
the end of August, said Mary Leverette, director of the state's
medical-marijuana program.
Under the program, each patient with a card can have three mature marijuana
plants, three immature plants and a small amount of ready-to-use cannabis.
About 60 percent of the patients authorize a caregiver to grow marijuana
for them, she said.
State law doesn't limit how many patients a caregiver can grow marijuana for.
Patten said that initially, when officials saw marijuana on private land,
they contacted the owner, only to find that the person had state approval
for the garden. Now officers go to the Department of Human Services, which
verifies whether an address is on the authorized-growers list.
Officers can inspect authorized gardens to ensure that the growers are
complying with the medical-marijuana law.
When the county added aerial surveillance to its anti-drug force years ago,
officers regularly spotted large marijuana plants in big gardens, Patten
said. As growers wised up, they focused on raising small, low-growing
plants that were easy to hide. Now big plants are common again because
gardens growing medical marijuana don't need to hide, he said.
Pubdate: Mon, 15 Sep 2003
Source: Statesman Journal (OR)
Copyright: 2003 Statesman Journal
Contact: letters@statesmanjournal.com
Website: Statesman Journal: Salem news, sports, entertainment. Serving Salem, Oregon.
of marijuana, they can't always confiscate the plants they spot.
Increasingly, when officials spot growing marijuana during a flyover or get
a complaint from neighbors, they discover that the property owner has the
state's approval to grow medical marijuana, said Lt. Dewey Patten,
commander of Jackson County Narcotics Enforcement Team.
In Jackson County, 335 people had state-issued medical-marijuana cards at
the end of August, said Mary Leverette, director of the state's
medical-marijuana program.
Under the program, each patient with a card can have three mature marijuana
plants, three immature plants and a small amount of ready-to-use cannabis.
About 60 percent of the patients authorize a caregiver to grow marijuana
for them, she said.
State law doesn't limit how many patients a caregiver can grow marijuana for.
Patten said that initially, when officials saw marijuana on private land,
they contacted the owner, only to find that the person had state approval
for the garden. Now officers go to the Department of Human Services, which
verifies whether an address is on the authorized-growers list.
Officers can inspect authorized gardens to ensure that the growers are
complying with the medical-marijuana law.
When the county added aerial surveillance to its anti-drug force years ago,
officers regularly spotted large marijuana plants in big gardens, Patten
said. As growers wised up, they focused on raising small, low-growing
plants that were easy to hide. Now big plants are common again because
gardens growing medical marijuana don't need to hide, he said.
Pubdate: Mon, 15 Sep 2003
Source: Statesman Journal (OR)
Copyright: 2003 Statesman Journal
Contact: letters@statesmanjournal.com
Website: Statesman Journal: Salem news, sports, entertainment. Serving Salem, Oregon.
