Kevin Fagan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
(06-03) 22:44 PDT -- Mendocino County relinquished its crown as the nation's epicenter of pot leniency Tuesday, with voters decisively approving a hotly contested measure to limit residents to six plants apiece under the state's medicinal pot law.
With 85.5 percent of precincts reporting, Measure B had already locked up an unbeatable 55.5 percent of the vote. The measure - which repealed an initiative approved by county voters eight years ago allowing residents to grow as many as 25 pot plants for personal use - needed majority approval to pass.
Other jurisdictions in the United States allow more plants, but they are generally confined to a specific space and must be used medically. Under the eight-year-old Mendocino regulations, the 25 allowable plants can grow as large and thick as possible, and be used as the owner wishes.
When the county's regulations passed as Measure G in 2000, proponents said the rules would simply codify what had been happening for decades in the county - massive pot growth that made Mendocino part of Northern California's renowned "Emerald Triangle."
The generous standards made it easier for people to grow pot to be used as pain-relief medicine, advocates say. But many residents and law enforcement officials complain that the standards were abused by people growing hundreds of plants at home for commercial sale.
Under federal law, possession of marijuana is illegal in any amount. California's Prop. 215, approved by voters in 1996, allows marijuana for medicinal use and the state gives local government authority to regulate use.
| Measure B Mendocino | ||
| 88.5% of precincts reporting | ||
| Vote | % | |
| Yes | 5,215 | 55.5 |
| No | 4,178 | 44.4 |
E-mail Kevin Fagan at kfagan@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page B - 8 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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