A federal grand jury in Sacramento has indicted a Trinity County man on marijuana conspiracy and cultivation charges, months after a series of raids resulted in the seizure of more than 2,700 pot plants. According to a criminal complaint, William Robert Barsanti, 26, who was indicted Thursday, bragged to local sheriff’s deputies that he could beat any charges against him because he was protected under California’s medical marijuana laws, the Sacramento Bee reports. Redding Record Searchlight coverage Trinity County authorities referred the case to federal prosecutors after 2,769 marijuana plants and five pounds of pot [...]
Live Oak trail-blazed through thickets of medical marijuana law last month where few, if any, cities have journeyed. The city of 8,600 residents became one of, if not the first city in California to ban growing medical marijuana — both indoor and outdoor — but it’s one of hundreds struggling to protect residents, allow sick people their medicine and navigate state law. James Maral, a Live Oak resident who grows marijuana for himself and his mother, is already testing the ban and state law, Jonathan Edwards reports in the Appeal-Democrat. Maral filed a lawsuit last [...]
The California Legislature will soon vote on two marijuana reform bills that seem to be more popular with the public than with the politicians in Sacramento: SB 129 by state Sen. Mark Leno, which would prohibit employment discrimination against medical marijuana patients, and AB 1017 by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, which would allow for reduced, misdemeanor charges in marijuana cultivation cases. Both bills have strong public support according to a newly released poll of state voters by EMC Research, CalNORML Director Dale Gieringer writes in an e-mail advisory. However, both have had trouble getting through the [...]
Faced with legal threats from Uncle Sam, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday gutted its innovative, revenue-generating medical marijuana permitting program that allowed cooperatives to grow up to 99 plants. “The mistake was made when we pushed the envelope,” said Supervisor Kendall Smith. Rather than issuing permits — a process that was recently suspended — the county now limits the number of plants to 25, well within the limits set in other counties and less likely to raise a red flag for federal authorities who consider pot for any purpose to be illegal. [...]
Lake County law-enforcement and government officials fear property values and public safety will be threatened by a proposed ballot initiative that would allow up to 12 budding marijuana plants in residential backyards and 84 on parcels of seven acres or more. On rural parcels, “right to farm regulations” would apply, prohibiting the county or neighboring property owners from complaining the pot gardens are nuisances, Glenda Anderson reports in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. “It would just nuke people’s property rights up here. Just nuke ‘em,” Lake County Community Development Director Rick Coel said. The Lake [...]
A Live Oak resident is suing to stop a ban on growing medical marijuana in the city that he said would force him to make “cruel choices.” James Maral is seeking an injunction in Sutter County Superior Court on to temporarily halt a ban on cultivating marijuana that the Live Oak City Council passed Dec. 21 and that took effect Friday. The suit seeking the injunction was filed Monday afternoon, Jonathan Edwards reports in the Appeal-Democrat. A judge is scheduled to hear arguments from Maral and the city of Live Oak at 3 p.m. today [...]
Mendocino County’s one-of-a-kind, income-generating medical marijuana cultivation permit process has been suspended pending the outcome of a Southern California court case that challenges the legality of issuing permits for activities that are illegal under federal law. “We’re waiting to hear something,” said Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman. The popular permits allowed medical marijuana collectives to as many as 99 plants under a fee structure that includes inspections and zip-tie identification markers for each plant, Glenda Anderson reports in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Ukiah Daily Journal: County pot permits not suspended The annual permit application [...]
As plastic bottles shuttle along humming conveyor belts in General Hydroponics’ vast Sebastopol factory, a row of nozzles fills the bottles with a bright pink liquid. The production of this proprietary mixture of phosphates, sulfates and potassium is being fueled by the popularity of growing plants indoors. Once an industry focused on orchids, roses and tomatoes, hydroponics is now being propelled into mainstream business by marijuana, Julie Johnson reports in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. “I used to be put off by seeing the work I did always show up in marijuana-focused stores,” said General [...]
A medical marijuana group seeking to recall Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko was unable to gather 20 valid signatures that would have started the process. Cathy Darling Allen, the county’s registrar of voters, said Friday that though the group had submitted 23 signatures, she was able to confirm the legitimacy of just 14 of them, Ryan Sabalow reports in the Redding Record Searchlight. She said the rest of the signatures either didn’t belong to registered voters, were illegible or were missing an actual signature, though the person had printed a name. Rob McDonald, the 50-year-old [...]
The one-of-a-kind cooperation between medical marijuana growers and the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department — which legitimized cannabis cultivation in the eyes of the law and saved the jobs of deputies facing layoffs — is at risk, pending the outcome of a court case. Since 2010, Mendocino County marijuana growers with a doctor’s recommendation have been permitted to license plants with Sheriff Tom Allman’s department, Chris Roberts reports in S.F. Weekly. Growers wishing to cultivate up to 99 plants must pay the Sheriff’s Department an inspection fee and a $50 per-plant permit fee under chapter 9.31 [...]
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