To the Editor:
I believe that marijuana should be legal and available for medical, religious or recreational use and that there is no rationale for banning its use while allowing the consumption of alcohol and tobacco. This is why I have testified as an expert witness on the religious use of marijuana on behalf of three criminal defendants in three different states who claimed their use of marijuana was a religious sacrament. That was when my only exposure to the issue of marijuana was the use side of the equation and I knew little about the impact of its cultivation.
Now that I live in Mendocino County and see the damaging effects of unregulated marijuana cultivation I would not be able to take such a case again. You see, I have come to understand the problem with liberalizing use and cultivation while marijuana is still illegal nationally.
The problem begins with the fact that we do not exist in isolation. Our liberalization has been the opportunists' delight. By attracting people from all over the country that want to capitalize on the laisse-faire culture here, the make-up of the county has changed dramatically in the past few years. Short-term interests of the few trump the long-term commitments of the majority of us.
I do not always know what size operation people are thinking of when they refer to "large" commercial growers, but I know first-hand the problems that can come from a grower with several hundred plants -- all supported with "physician recommendations." Add up hundreds of these operations across the county and this has serious environmental impact. No one would be turning to look the other way if vintners suddenly took over entire hillsides with vineyards or every back yard had crops of coffee grown for export or a company decided to start an asphalt plant at the top of a major watershed. There are stringent regulations and mitigations such businesses would have to meet while producers in the marijuana industry remain free of oversight.
Those that argue that uncontrolled marijuana cultivation is harmless are either very lucky not to have been touched by its excesses, or they are disingenuous. I want to believe it is the former. Yet these very people make righteous claims as to their concern over the environment and people's rights while they look away as growers suck the water dry and bring in vicious dogs, guns, create hazardous fire conditions, contaminate soil and otherwise act solely in their self-interest and ignore the insult and danger to others. I have been saddened that the proponents of marijuana have not joined with their fellow community members to find solutions to these problems rather than demean and accuse them of making up stories. If you are not solely about profiteering and your very supporters have turned against you, it is time to look at the problem directly and seek solutions.
While seeking an alternative solution to prohibition, I have spent countless hours in conversations with concerned people trying to find a solution that satisfies everyone. I sat in many supervisors' meetings listening to neighbors describe their troubling experiences. Almost everyone I have heard speak on this issue -- publicly or privately -- has said they supported liberalization of marijuana and they are sad that it has become such a problem. From what I can see, people are concerned with the effects of widespread marijuana cultivation -- not the plant itself. They still support compassionate use of medical marijuana and do not seek its eradication -- so far.
My understanding from talking with attorneys and listening to discussions in the Board of Supervisors is that there is no legal means for the county to license, regulate, or tax what is still not legal (Prop 215 did not legalize marijuana in California.). Yet, every other industry is regulated and taxed so as to contribute to the community.
The sheriff and the district attorney have made it clear that they have no mandate, nor budget to pursue every pot grower in the county. And for those who create a nuisance or danger, they need more provision for addressing the problem. We need to be in line with the rest of the state on plant limits to take the pressure off our land, water, wildlife, and community.
If advocates for medical marijuana really want to protect its availability, it is time to work with the community to contain the situation and the abuses or the blow back will set the liberalization movement back 25 years. This is why I voted Yes on Measure B and urge you to do the same.
Deborah Pruitt, Ph.D.
Willits
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