Please vote Yes on Measure B

Article Last Updated: 06/02/2008 08:01:42 AM PDT

To the Editor:

Don't sit on the sidelines on Measure B. Please come out and vote on what your mind and heart tells you. You have heard the issues and views from both Yes on B and No on B advocates. Supporters believe Measure B will meet the needs of all seriously ill Mendocino citizens, reduce toxic exposure to the brains of children and adolescents, reduce crime, nuisance, and environmental pollution. Opponents of B believe the current 25-plant limit is necessary for medical illness, will not contribute to crime, and will improve the economy. Others believe that improvement can occur only when federal laws might change in the future. But, for the here and now in Mendocino County, all of us must weigh in with our beliefs. Come out and vote Tuesday, June 3rd.

Robert Werra M.D.
Ukiah

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff

Article Last Updated: 06/02/2008 08:02:05 AM PDT

To the Editor:

I am so terribly afraid that the illegal dope growing drug dealers have taken control of what once was a very nice place to live. I am afraid that the recent fact that the registrar of voters has been flooded with well over 2,000 new voter registrations in the past couple of months is an indication of methodical and devious tactics of the No on B supporters, who will do anything to maintain their strangling hold of this county.

Surely not all of the new voters registrations are from legitimate Mendocino County residents. They are probably from people who live out of our county and are making it appear as if they are legitimate residents purely for the purpose of defeating Measure B. You watch, as soon as the election is over these registered voters will scatter like cockroaches in daylight. There are even ads on the radio from the No on B faction promoting this activity.

I am afraid that the criminal element has infiltrated our local government by deceit, fraud and financial backing by NORML. This criminal element has taken over like a cancer spreading its disease into every facet of our local government. Has anyone checked to see where election campaign contributions have come from? Has anyone followed the money?

I am afraid that when our sheriff had the guts to stand up to the dope growing, drug dealers, they threaten him with impeachment as a tactic to try to shut him up. I hope this doesn't happen and that the good people of Mendocino will see through this attack on our highest level law enforcement official. If they control him, they control the county.

I am afraid that while the Yes on B Coalition played by the rules, the No on B people scurried around like rats in the night stealing and defacing the Yes on B signs placed on private property. They distributed confusing literature full of lies and misinformation concerning what Measure B is all about in an attempt to scare people who might have a small amount of pot into thinking they will be targeted by law enforcement. The reality is non-medicinal use of pot is illegal. It has been for over 40 years. Yet, no one has had their doors kicked in by law enforcement because they are smoking a joint in the privacy of their own homes, not unless there is more severe legal activity going on to warrant this.

I also do not believe the No on B people have at all been honest about their funding. Common sense dictates that a large amount of money has probably come from out of county and most likely from NORML, a nationally based organization trying to legitimize the dope growing drug dealers. The No on B people have hired consultants to aid in distraction techniques aimed at confusing the average Mendocino County resident about what the true facts are concerning Measure B.

I am afraid that we have lost our beautiful county to the drug dealers whose slogan is Support our County' when in fact the only thing they are interested in is supporting the environmentally destructive profits which goes directly into their drug dealing dope growing pockets as well as the pockets of their unethical and immoral attorneys who sell their souls to the highest bidders.

Yes, I am afraid that the citizens of Mendocino County are being held hostage by the dope growers and drug dealers. We have slowly allowed them to take over. I am afraid it might be too late to save our county. If we do not actively try to stop the dope growing, dope dealers by demanding that a voter registration fraud investigation be started immediately even if it means postponing the current election, we may never have another chance to stop the criminals. They are too financially supported and too devious. They are a parasite that is eating away at our community. I strongly encourage everyone to please vote Yes on B on June 3rd and don't buy into the propaganda sludge that the opposition has attempted to brainwash and confuse us with. This may be our last chance. We need to break free of the bondage that the drug dealers have on us. Please vote yes on B.

Sallie Palmer
Ukiah

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff

Article Last Updated: 06/02/2008 08:02:02 AM PDT

To the Editor:

I have been listening to people talk about why they are either for or against Measure B. I am for Measure B because since Prop 215 passed I have seen a big decline in our youth.

There are a lot of businesses that are saying they are having trouble getting young people to work. When I was working for Willits High School as a coach some of the players were getting a hold of marijuana. I had trouble having them keep their grades up. A lot of them became ineligible at the end of the quarter. I never saw any student go from a C to a B while using marijuana. I have never heard of any teacher saying a student's grades improved by using marijuana. There may have been one or two. I personally never heard of any one including parents say that it did improve their children's grades by using marijuana or that it made their child a better student.

I have talked to over 200 students' parents in the past 10 years and they felt marijuana did a lot of damage to their children's lives. That is why I am voting Yes on B in June.

Dan McBride
Willits

Article Last Updated: 06/02/2008 08:01:34 AM PDT

To the Editor:

Why does "Yes on B" have my support? There are several reasons, one of them being the absolute rudeness of "No" supporters at the Forum on B held last week at the Willits Grange Hall. Even after their speakers politely offered their reasons for a "no" vote (medical marijuana), it was painfully aware that the vast majority of "no" people in the audience were there because they want to continue on down their path of greed and refusal to make a living in some honest and legal way.

Believe me, I voted for Prop. 215. I fully support honest peoples' rights to use medicinal marijuana within the limits set by the State of California, as well as their personal medical doctor. I support the growers who grow without profit for these people who need their medicine for legitimate reasons.

The main reason I support a "Yes" vote is my frustration in being unable to safely walk on and enjoy my own property anymore. There is marijuana growing just over our fence line. None of us is willing to go to the far reaches of the property to check for pot growth, for fear of what or who we might find there.

We are the third and fourth generations of our family to care for, nurture, protect and love our land in Willits. Another generation -- my grandchildren -- wait in the wings to play on their land and cherish it as we do. I cannot, in good conscience, allow them to play there as their parents did. It is just too risky. What a very sad thing.

If there were no other reason for me to vote "Yes on B," this would be it. I want Mendocino County to go back to being the peaceful, beautiful place it was when my children and I grew up. I truly fear for the future of Willits and Mendocino County if Measure B does not pass.

Please join me in voting "Yes!"

Kathleen Lewis
Willits

Article Last Updated: 06/02/2008 08:01:34 AM PDT

To the Editor:

Let's all begin the process of taking back our community and providing a better place for our children. Please join me and vote Yes on Measure B.

Paul Jepson, M.D.
Ukiah

Article Last Updated: 06/02/2008 08:01:37 AM PDT

To the Editor:

Measure G has opened a floodgate of criminality in Mendocino County. People from all over the state and the world poured into the countryside and neighborhoods to grow commercial marijuana.

They don't care about anyone or anything else. Some are growing large crops in the thousands. Others are growing smaller, yet still lucrative grows right in the middle of once quiet, safe neighborhoods. The danger from these growers -- their verbal threats, guns and vicious dogs is obvious.

But, there is another, more insidious kind of criminal that came out of the woodwork. This is the commercial grower who amasses big bucks while pretending to grow for medicinal purposes. They claim to be a caregiver providing medicine for the sick.

Then out of the other side of their mouth they say, "Marijuana is the number one cash crop in Mendocino County." Why? Because it's illegal. Do these people really want marijuana to be legalized? No. They want prohibition. They like prohibition. It keeps their profit margins high.

They claim to be interested only in marijuana for medicine, but then proudly proclaim marijuana is the number one crop in Mendocino County.

Well, which is it -- medicine or money?

I think we all know the answer.

Please vote Yes on Measure B.

Larry Puterbaugh
Ukiah

Article Last Updated: 06/02/2008 08:01:37 AM PDT

To the Editor:

The how and why of the California six plant limit.

A visit to the pro-marijuana website, http://www.safeaccessnow.net/sb420letter.htm, shows the letter from John Vasconcellos and Mark Leno, authors of SB 420, which established the six plant guideline in 2002.

They note that, "We have crafted SB 420 as the result of three years of intensive negotiations among all key stakeholders (including patients, providers and physicians)..."

They also say that, "These guidelines are endorsed by several credible knowledgeable supporters of the medical uses of marijuana: Dr. Marcus Conant (well respected HIV/AIDS doctor), Scott Imler (long-time medical marijuana patient advocate and president of the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center), Marsha Rosenbaum (medical sociologist and director of the San Francisco office of Drug Policy Alliance), and Jerry Uelman (Professor of Law at Santa Clara University and medical marijuana defense attorney)."

Most important of all, they note that the adopted state limit of six mature plants or 12 immature plants and 1/2 pound of dried marijuana isn't inflexible, but rather allows any patient to have more if a physician recommends that they need it.

They conclude by saying SB 420, "Provides broad protection to tens of thousands of ill Californians without jeopardizing any ill Californians."

As the election approaches, voters should beware of last-minute misinformation from the opponents to Measure B.

The SB 420 guidelines were carefully developed to account for the medical needs of patients. In contrast, Richard Johnson, the principal author of Measure G, has described the 25-plant limit of Measure G as being, "Entirely arbitrary. We were going for the maximum." It is the 25 plant limit that has no scientific or medical basis.

We have a crisis from the impacts of commercial marijuana. Measure B will help us deal with this crisis by getting us back in line with the rules that govern in the vast majority of California counties instead of making Mendocino County a magnet for commercial growers.

Ross Liberty
Ukiah

Fear & Intimidation puts neighbors in bad situation

You may only use this letter if I am allowed to remain anonymous.

One of the growers in my area is believed to be a part of an organized group of growers. More simply put organized crime. I fear for the safety of myself and my family if our name and location were given out.

Dear Friends,

In the past three days my wife and I have gone on two short hikes. Each time we came back angry, frustrated and upset. In both cases on our walks we discovered on neighboring properties to ours that they were putting in large pot gardens.

These two new growers are an addition to the two commercial grow houses we already have on our road. Personally I don't really care much if someone wants to grow some plants for their own personal use. That's their choice as long as they don't go driving their car or operate some machinery and kill someone else.

I understand the need for some people to smoke marijuana legally for medical reasons. They have a need and a right to grow small quantities of marijuana. These large growers on the other hand have no altruistic reason for growing pot other than just plain greed. It just really bothers us because these people are only doing it for the money. In growing such big gardens they feel they have to protect them.

One of the growers got a really nasty dog. The other has placed no trespassing signs all around and you feel pretty unwelcome walking past their property. Then there is the fact that other people will come in the fall to try and rob the harvest.

Are we going to get shot at or attacked by their dog. Is our home going to be invaded by mistake? Already two of my other neighbors have had people come to their doors at two o'clock in the morning to buy marijuana.

It is really sad that the beautiful place we moved to years ago has come to this. All we can do is pray that the Lord will protect us from such evil greedy people. It is on Him alone that we have to rely on for guidance and understanding in this situation. Pray for our family,

Anonymous for our safety

Read more Cries for help

Support your neighbors
vote YES on Measure B
June 3rd, 2008

County can't continue to go it's own way

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff

Article Last Updated: 04/10/2008 08:51:34 AM PDT

To the Editor:

First, we had federal law, which said marijuana is illegal. But in the sixties the feds only went after the local growers a little and there were few arrests.

Then, through the seventies and eighties, pot was still illegal and we had planes and helicopters in the air making it a little harder to grow, but it was still profitable for many.

In 1996 California plus some other states decided to go against federal law and declare the smoking of pot for "medicinal purposes" legal. This "Medical Marijuana" campaign has continued since then despite federal laws and published letters from the AMA and the FDA stating that consuming all the poisons that are inseparable with the act of smoking pot is not medicinal at all. When California decided to ignore federal law the state's pot industry became ten times larger.

During the last 12 years, Mendocino County has taken it upon itself to oversee the regulation of marijuana laws for the county, which say 25 plants are OK (but nobody's looking). Then we had a handful of alleged "doctors" come into Mendocino County and sell tens of thousands of their recommendations, (not RX slips as were required), for pot growing.

When Mendocino County decided to ignore federal and state laws the pot industry again became ten times larger. Doesn't this make Mendocino County Board of Supervisors responsible for everything that has occurred since the county, in essence, said "To heck with federal and state Law"? Doesn't the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors and local law enforcement have some obligation for public safety?

Ignoring all the laws against growing pot made some local politicians very popular. It made the pot growers and many of our local officials very rich. I think all the people who got extremely rich from illegal pot growing owe a huge debt of thanks to the ones who made most of this possible, that's right, the little people. After all, more than seventy percent of the tens of billions of dollars in pot profits that now pour into Mendocino County every year come from young kids under the age of 18 from all across the country.

Here's a question. What if Measure B passes, and like before, the police don't enforce it and the growers don't obey it? Then what? Could it be that Mendocino County is letting this measure go through simply to transfer the responsibility for local drug dealing back on the shoulders of the state? Can all those officials in Mendocino County who profited from criminally mishandling illegal drug dealing for 12 years get away with if that easy?

We'll see.

Now we can all go back to forgetting about the little people.

Marc Parsley
Willits

No easy fix

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff

Article Last Updated: 04/02/2008 08:41:26 AM PDT

To the Editor:

Dr. James Pretorius's letter said it well. Measure G has created problems that I don't think anyone ever intended it to.

Measure G was created for the benefit of bona fide medical patients but has created a host of unforeseen issues. People of all ages have jumped onto the business end of the bandwagon and it's not all legitimate. Youth have an easy way to stay put and make easy money without benefit of education. Unfortunately it's a short-sighted prophecy.

I was born and raised in Mendocino County. It's one of California's most beautiful places to be ... I thought I'd never want to leave.

That was before I started seeing grows and vicious dogs in every neighborhood and before I started being met by armed guards on ATVs while out for a Sunday drive or peaceful hikes on public roads.

I have recently moved out of state -- partly due to the frustration felt in the way things have evolved in this once-beautiful and peaceful place, and seeing what it has done to your youth, businesses and overall community.

Your little piece of heavenly pie is no longer even relatively safe.

As much as I miss the area and the people therein, it's frankly rather refreshing to be elsewhere right now.

What is the answer? I wish I knew. I do feel that it's time for the pendulum to swing back down to a place of balance.

Repealing Measure G alone is not the answer.

There are a lot of intelligent people in your community -- it's time to put some proactive heads together.

Perhaps it's time to either legalize marijuana or come up with a better medical marijuana system.

I remain hopeful.

Diana Shea
Prescott, Ariz.

Worried about medical marijuana rights

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff

Article Last Updated: 04/02/2008 08:41:13 AM PDT

To the Editor:

I received a phone call yesterday asking me to subscribe to the Ukiah Daily Journal, and here's why I said no. Your editor, K.C. Meadows, is now leading a vendetta against half the population of Mendocino County. I will not take a newspaper that is so biased that it doesn't see real people, but continues to editorialize using assumptions based on the lowest common denominator.

My wonderful husband is 74 years old, and has been diagnosed with glaucoma. His sight has not worsened over the years. He has, in fact, saved his eyesight by smoking marijuana. I'm also a senior using marijuana for pain management. We are at this time allowed to grow the number of plants necessary for us to smoke or eat for a year.

Unfortunately, after finally beginning to feel safe about growing our medicine, our fears have returned. What bothers us is the hatred thrown at marijuana smokers and growers that is all out of proportion to their supposed crimes, and we are all painted with the same brush.

The Ukiah Daily Journal encourages this with their unkind comments and thoughtless condemnations. The truth is that the growers and smokers you don't hear about -- the one's that are not in the news -- are in the majority in Mendocino County. Huge numbers of people are simply minding their own business, without trouble or violence. These are the residents of our county that the "yes on B" people and the Ukiah Daily Journal would have you believe are all growing monster plants and making more money than Bill Gates. It's a ridicules stance. Measure B is another step in the wrong direction -- backwards.

Jean Hanamoto
Willits

Editor's note:
I am sorry that you do not subscribe to the Daily Journal, but if you did, you would have read that Measure B in no way prevents any medical marijuana patient from growing or smoking as much medical marijuana as their doctor says they need. We believe that medical marijuana patients should heartily endorse Measure B since the rampant misuse of the medical marijuana law made possible in this county by Measure G (which Measure B seeks to repeal) has begun to erode public support for medical marijuana laws in general and set your cause back.

Opposes Measure B

Editor's note:

It is important to point out that Sheriff Tom Allman has not only said that the No on B folks have taken his statements out of context, he has said he takes no position on Measure B except to say that he opposes the commercial cultivation going on in our county, does not target small growers, and that he is already focused primarily on violent crime and other issues. It is also important to note that state law has already makes possession of up to an ounce marijuana for personal use a simple misdemeanor with a possible $100 fine. In addition, Measure G did not "decriminalize" personal use or marijuana growing. Reversing it will not "criminalize" anything.

What's important is that Measure G's 25-plant "personal use" allowance generates more pot than anyone could possibly smoke and has led to the outright commercialization of what used to be mom and pop gardens - gardens that will continue to be safe from prosecution unless they - in Allman's own words: "Create a public nuisance, endanger public safety or trash the environment."

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Article Last Updated: 03/24/2008 08:48:42 AM PDT

To the Editor:

I wanted to be sure that people understand that if Measure B passes, it will make anyone with over six marijuana plants a felon. This was why Measure G was passed in the first place, to keep basically good people -- our friends and neighbors -- from going to jail. Sheriff Tom Allman has said publicly that it would be a burden on law enforcement if Measure G is overturned, and that his deputies wouldn't be able to focus on other public safety issues.

Why does over-production by some growers have to affect the thousands of people growing a few plants for themselves? We are not talking about huge grows in our forests and parks, we're talking about small backyard gardens grown by much of the population of Mendocino County! Please vote no on measure B. B = Bad!

Jean Hanamoto
Willits

Marijuana mythology?

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Article Last Updated: 03/21/2008 08:47:52 AM PDT

To the Editor:

The marijuana advocates use prescriptions (Rx's) for pot, to legitimize their growing marijuana. They speak of the ill who suffer unless they can obtain marijuana. This Rx argument is seriously flawed.

An Rx has a dose, a frequency of use, an amount, and is filled by a reliable pharmacy. Information is given concerning and the possible long term consequences. There is a limit to the refills, and the quantity of use is monitored, as well as the benefits or problems associated with the use of the Rx drug.

Marijuana Rx's are predominately given out by physicians, who do this for financial gain. The patient arrives with cash, tells a story. The physician then gives them their Rx, usually with little or no exam, and sends them on their way. The patient is not required to follow up, or verify that the Rx is effective. There is no dose, and there are no instructions on when, or how much should be used. Some of these encounters occur after the patient waits in a long line, sometimes stretching out a doorway onto the street. I had the opportunity to hear a doctor from Berkeley who is an advocate for marijuana speak. He has testified in front of the Supreme Court on behalf of marijuana as a Rx drug. I asked him how many patients he saw in the past few years for pot Rxs. His answer, 3,000. I then asked of the 3,000 individuals who came in, how many left without an Rx for marijuana? His answer, none. His charge for this service? $150 per person. Do the math: $450,000, paid in cash. No wonder he advocates for this practice. His list of diagnosis for pot included a juvenile who was stressed with being in juvenile hall, and wanted to smoke pot to sleep at night, while incarcerated.

Please don't be confused by my point here, there are a few people out there who benefit from smoking pot. I worked at the local AIDS clinic in the early 1990s. I have been a physician for the past 29 years, there are cancer patients, and others who use pot and benefit. Most smoke very modest amounts, and prefer not to be intoxicated, or high. There are local physicians who are careful, and do give good advice on marijuana.

What we have in Mendocino County is a system that is built on lies, and deceit. The growers stand behind the medical Rx argument. The pot grown here is sold elsewhere; the money comes back, and is not taxed. The criminal element becomes involved because of the cash involved, and because the entire enterprise is done behind closed doors. The sheriff and the police look the other way. The DA does not prosecute, and if they do, they do not seem to be able to win. The board of supervisors has placed a measure to repeal Measure G on the June ballot. I would like to support them. Repealing Measure G is a good first step. Having our DA request that physicians who run marijuana clinics be shut down by the state medical board is also needed. If we work together, we an return Mendocino County to the safe and serene place I moved to 19 years ago.

James Pretorius.
Potter Valley

The future to the stoners?

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Article Last Updated: 02/05/2008 08:30:07 AM PST


The future to the stoners?

To the Editor:

I read on the front page of the Sunday paper that local businesses don't notice the recession. Well "Duh." So many of Mendocino County residents are growing and selling pot! And most of those people are shopping locally. So we have a whole county partially funded with illegal money. I am sure if pot was not legal, as the rest of the country, we would see the recession. I'm unsure if this is a bad thing or good thing. I myself do not use pot. If you're dying, use whatever you can. If you have a headache take an aspirin. I pray as my kids grow they don't get wrapped up in the whole system of things. How sad: The future of Mendocino County goes to the stoners!

Tiffany Martin-Williams

Ukiah