Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
With the outdoor grow season moving toward cannabis harvests, the Placer County department tasked with enforcing strict medicinal marijuana cultivation rules has fielded 74 complaints since May.
According to county code-enforcement numbers, 30 of the complaints have been turned over to the division by the Placer County Sheriff's Office.
A total of 37 of the complaints have been resolved with full compliance — which means either bringing plant numbers down to six or having them removed entirely.
Code enforcement officers are working on 19 more complaints, with one of them meeting some resistance, Chief Building Official Tim Wegner said. Officers post notices at sites not in compliance and a grower must meet county requirements within three days or face escalating fines.
But growers have been responsive to county requests to bring plots into compliance, when they are able. The county has limits on the number of outdoor plants — six — and rules on where or how medicinal grows are undertaken.
"We have not had the opportunity to have any administrative hearings or abatement settings or anything to that effect," Wegner said.
A three-hour flyover with the Placer County Sheriff's Office indicated environmental degradation had taken place on the ground at some large grow sites, including tree cutting and grading, Wegner said.
No soil or water testing has been undertaken but if the county addresses the "scofflaw grows," environmental questions will also be addressed, he said.
The code-compliance team has been asked to address "hot spots" for compliance issues that include Sheridan, Dutch Flat and Alta.
Sheridan resident Violet Garcia asked supervisors at a meeting last week on compliance issues to stop what she said was an attempt to pull plants she uses medicinally. Garcia said she is a low-income resident of Placer County, a veteran and widow who lost her husband to cancer.
"Guys are coming out tomorrow to pull all my plants and it's not right," Garcia said.
Supervisor Kirk Uhler had questioned the amount of demand for safe, accessible medicinal cannabis in Placer County, noting that no one from his Granite Bay district had raised the issue with him.
As part of the discussion at the Aug. 15 Board of Supervisors meeting, supervisors gave direction to county staff to determine what changes to rules might be necessary to allow a scientific research facility in Placer County to study the medical efficacy of cannabis to inform future policy.
"One opportunity I see here is to advance scientific research and testing to better understand the medicinal benefits of cannabinoids found in cannabis," Roseville Supervisor Jack Duran said.
Placer County staff is expected to return to the board in the coming weeks with more details on what may be necessary to support the proposed lab.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Placer County acts on 74 pot-grow complaints | Auburn Journal
Author: Gus Thomson
Contact: Contact Us | Auburn Journal
Photo Credit: Ron Strider
Website: Auburn California News | Auburn Journal
According to county code-enforcement numbers, 30 of the complaints have been turned over to the division by the Placer County Sheriff's Office.
A total of 37 of the complaints have been resolved with full compliance — which means either bringing plant numbers down to six or having them removed entirely.
Code enforcement officers are working on 19 more complaints, with one of them meeting some resistance, Chief Building Official Tim Wegner said. Officers post notices at sites not in compliance and a grower must meet county requirements within three days or face escalating fines.
But growers have been responsive to county requests to bring plots into compliance, when they are able. The county has limits on the number of outdoor plants — six — and rules on where or how medicinal grows are undertaken.
"We have not had the opportunity to have any administrative hearings or abatement settings or anything to that effect," Wegner said.
A three-hour flyover with the Placer County Sheriff's Office indicated environmental degradation had taken place on the ground at some large grow sites, including tree cutting and grading, Wegner said.
No soil or water testing has been undertaken but if the county addresses the "scofflaw grows," environmental questions will also be addressed, he said.
The code-compliance team has been asked to address "hot spots" for compliance issues that include Sheridan, Dutch Flat and Alta.
Sheridan resident Violet Garcia asked supervisors at a meeting last week on compliance issues to stop what she said was an attempt to pull plants she uses medicinally. Garcia said she is a low-income resident of Placer County, a veteran and widow who lost her husband to cancer.
"Guys are coming out tomorrow to pull all my plants and it's not right," Garcia said.
Supervisor Kirk Uhler had questioned the amount of demand for safe, accessible medicinal cannabis in Placer County, noting that no one from his Granite Bay district had raised the issue with him.
As part of the discussion at the Aug. 15 Board of Supervisors meeting, supervisors gave direction to county staff to determine what changes to rules might be necessary to allow a scientific research facility in Placer County to study the medical efficacy of cannabis to inform future policy.
"One opportunity I see here is to advance scientific research and testing to better understand the medicinal benefits of cannabinoids found in cannabis," Roseville Supervisor Jack Duran said.
Placer County staff is expected to return to the board in the coming weeks with more details on what may be necessary to support the proposed lab.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Placer County acts on 74 pot-grow complaints | Auburn Journal
Author: Gus Thomson
Contact: Contact Us | Auburn Journal
Photo Credit: Ron Strider
Website: Auburn California News | Auburn Journal
