To the Editor:
I have to comment on Measure B. I was driving past the courthouse today and observed the "happy hippies," smiling and purporting their No on B' position -- "lets all just smoke a little pot and get along."
I couldn't help but think that the image they are presenting couldn't be further from the truth. Nobody is really arguing about somebody's right to grow and smoke a little dope. Measure B provides for that. The real issue and problem that Measure B addresses is the incredibly high percentage of people who are here to grow dope and don't care about the environment, don't care about anybody's neighborhood, their property value or their personal belongings. They are here to just rape Mendocino County of anything it has to offer, take whatever they want, when they want it, without regard to anyone else.
Selfish, mean, wasteful and dangerous people -- and it's time to stand up and take our neighborhoods, our towns, and our county back! I urge everyone to vote yes on B. Anyone who is apathetic regarding this issue either has their head in the sand, or has the amazing luck of living in an area where nobody is growing dope... yet. We need legislation that gives law enforcement some backing and a court system that carries it through and we need it now. The fabric of our community can't take much more -- our youth, our safety, our beautiful corner of God's green earth will all be just a memory if we let this opportunity pass by. Yes on B!
Cathy Hoyt
Ukiah
To the Editor:
We all know by now that 25 plants is way beyond what a legitimate medical marijuana patient needs.
So. What happens to the excess marijuana? Do they donate it to San Francisco cooperatives out of the kindness of their hearts? I think probably some kind people do. At least I would like to think that and I wholeheartedly commend them for their service. Sadly, I believe this isn't the norm. Also, by now we know 25 plants is a highly lucrative amount. Marijuana grows huge in Mendocino County and people know how to grow it big indoors and out. Don't be fooled by "It depends on how good the grower is," etc. Most of those who sell their "excess" to these San Francisco cooperatives are making big bucks. When they are arrested for growing "just a few extra plants" their high-priced lawyer declares, "This is an outrage" and nobly says he'll defend his client pro bono. He predictably invokes Measure G for his defense. When commercial growers hide behind medical marijuana it is at the expense of legitimate medical marijuana patients and caregivers. This abuse of the well-intentioned Measure G is what may well turn out to be its demise. Please vote Yes on Measure B.
Cathy Finigan
Ukiah
To the Editor:
June 3, voting date, is rapidly approaching. On the ballot is an extremely important measure for the citizens of Mendocino County -- Measure B. Measure B will repeal Measure G and set limits on the amount of marijuana that can be produced in the county. I have faith that the sane and responsible citizens of Mendocino County will examine Measure B and see that it is good for the county and not bad as some would lead us to believe. You will vote yes on the measure.
The main objection to Measure B is that it will restrict the number of marijuana plants that can be grown and harm the medical marijuana patient. From the voter's pamphlet, in their argument against Measure B, the opponents of Measure B have written that Measure B will, "subject medical marijuana patients to arrest and prosecution on felony charges for growing more than six plants, forcing many seriously ill people into the criminal market to get their medicine." That is about the furthest stretch from the truth that you can get. From the same voter pamphlet in the section, "Full text on Measure B," subsection four, are remarks about Senate Bill 420. SB 420 sets the limit for the state as, "six mature plants or 12 immature plants per qualified patient's needs." This provision of law provided by SB 420 ensures protection for the medical marijuana patient and ensures that the qualified patient will get enough marijuana for their medical needs.
The opponents of Measure B would like for you to believe their fabrication over the provision of law provided by Senate Bill 420. Which will you believe, the Senate Bill 420 or the fabrication made by the opponents to Measure B? What Measure B will do is reduce the immense tonnage of marijuana that is available in Mendocino County. Let us look at some more math and examine again the emperor's new clothes and the naked truth about marijuana produced in Mendocino County.
I don't know the actual number of qualified medical marijuana patients in Mendocino County. It is not unreasonable to believe that there may be as many as 1,000 individuals. The opponents of Measure B have defined them as, "seriously ill people." And with this definition, they appeal to your compassion to see things their way. And with this definition in mind and with our compassionate nature we will accept these 1,000 "seriously ill people" at their word. We will accept that they are the sickest people in the county and that they indeed require marijuana for their medical problems. Under current Measure G, these 1,000 sickest people in the county are entitled by law to grow 25 marijuana plants. Let us assume that these individuals are so sick that each one demands their full entitlement to grow their 25 plants. And we with our compassionate nature, under Measure G, are going to see that they grow them. According to the UDJ publication, law enforcement has stated that these marijuana plants can reach a huge size and produce as much as two pounds per plant. That means that each of these very sick people can demand and grow as much as 50 pounds of marijuana because they are so sick they require that much. Under Measure G, we believe them and allow them to grow that much because we are responsible, caring, compassionate fellow citizens. That means we allow 1,000 of the sickest people in the county to grow 50,000 pounds of marijuana (1,000 by 50 pounds per patient). That equals 25 tons of marijuana. We as responsible citizens, being compassionate, are than going to allow 1,000 of the most "seriously ill people" in the county to smoke or use 25 tons of marijuana. After all, they need it and we are going to let them smoke it this year and every year after this year. We are compassionate and we are going to see that they get it. How long are these sickest people in the county going to last when they smoke 25 tons of marijuana every year? And they do it with our blessing and encouragement. How much more compassionate can we get?
Linda Williams wrote an article published in the UDJ Dec. 26, 2007, "Examining Marijuana as Medicine." In that article, she reported the results of a Danish study previously reported August 2007. The Danish study reported, "smoking one joint causes the same lung disease as three to five tobacco cigarettes." If you equate this fact with the 1,000 sickest and "seriously ill people" smoking 25 tons of marijuana every year you come to a very serious and sobering conclusion. One thousand of the sickest people in this county would be smoking and causing the equivalent in lung disease as if they were smoking as much as 75 to 125 tons of tobacco every year. Can you imagine 1,000 of the sickest people in the county smoking as much as 125 tons of tobacco equivalent every year? and can you imagine how compassionate and enlightened we have become? All we have to do to continue being that compassionate is vote no on Measure B. If you have bought the arguments of the opponents of Measure B and are still persuaded to vote no on Measure B you will become the most compassionate soul on planet earth. But remember that if you are of that persuasion, you have not been led down a primrose path. You have been sucked down a bamboozle tube. And if you vote no on Measure B, you will not only be overly compassionate, you will have become bamboozled.
James R. Cruise, M.D.
Redwood Valley
To the Editor:
I am wondering how many residents of this county know that the medical marijuana growers are using up a great deal of our water. It takes two gallons of water for one plant per day and in the case of large mature plants it can go up to 15 gallons of water per day for one plant.
A law enforcement official has recently estimated that there are approximately 9,000 medical marijuana patients with doctor's recommendations that enable those people to grow marijuana for medical reasons.
These patients are allowed to grow 25 plants each, which means approximately 225,000 plants may be grown legally. At a minimum of two gallons of water per plant, per day (remember that the larger mature plants take more water) marijuana growers use at least 450,000 gallons of water to maintain their maximum number of plants per day. Multiply that by the typical growing time, which I was told (by a medical marijuana grower friend of mine) is roughly two months and the result is 27 million gallons of water being used by the 9000 growers in a season.
Recently, there have been more news stories about water, or, more accurately, the lack of it. I have seen "water situation," "water problem," and "water crisis" used. I would suspect that the residents of Redwood Valley would agree with the last term, since they had to make drastic cuts in their water usage last summer and fall. They would have had more water available to them if there were not so much marijuana being grown.
While it is true that this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as total marijuana growing and water usage in our county is concerned, it should be clear that passing Measure B will lower the amount of water being used for legal cultivation and leave more for growing of fruits and vegetables, flowers, everyday cleaning and personal hygiene, as well as environmental concerns, such as the destruction of salmon habitat and of native plants.
Roughly 10 percent of our county's residents may have the right to grow marijuana for medicinal reasons, but that does not mean that they should be able to deplete the water resources for the other 90 percent.
Vicki Blackburn
Ukiah
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