In what may be the first case of its kind in state history, a Healdsburg man whose marijuana was stolen in a home-invasion robbery will be allowed to seek restitution from the defendants. “It certainly does represent a milestone,” said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, an Oakland advocacy group for medical marijuana users. “I appreciate the court recognizing this as a lawful substance. Victims should be compensated.” But just how much Michael Steffens’ weed is worth will be open to debate, Paul Payne reports in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. His [...]
Michael Steffens gets a little nervous these days when he hears car wheels coming up his rural Healdsburg driveway or one of his dogs barking at the window. A little more than two years ago, the 51-year-old carpenter was the victim of a home-invasion robbery in which he was tied up and beaten by four men who dressed as police officers. Steffens survived and the men were quickly caught and punished, Paul Payne reports in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. But unlike other victims, Steffens said he’s been unable to get public assistance for the [...]
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 [...]
Petaluma Mayor David Glass says that three months ago he might well have voted for lifting his city’s ban on marijuana dispensaries. He has no doubt medical cannabis helps some and has the support of many more, Sam Scott reports in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. But times have changed. When the topic of lifting the ban arose at Monday’s City Council meeting, Glass told the audience his views had been tempered by the recent federal crackdown on the state’s medical marijuana industry. “I believe the people want it,” Glass said. “I just don’t think [...]
Gabino Lopez Santiago refused to join a marijuana-growing venture in the moments before he ran from a group of men and was shot and killed on a rural ranch in the hills edging Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley. He had been partying with his brother-in-law who later claimed that he, too, had feared for his life when he was tasked with dumping Santiago’s body 10 miles away. The new allegations surrounding the Oct. 16 shooting were revealed in court documents and interviews, illuminating an argument fueled by alcohol and centered around the lucrative business of [...]
REDWOOD VALLEY – The U.S. drug agents’ vehicles rumbled past vineyards and cattle ranches, traversed winding roads through oak woodlands and cleared a gate marked with a sign: “Member, Mendocino Farm Bureau.” Camouflaged and heavily armed, Drug Enforcement Administration officers brought a battering ram to the door of Matthew Cohen and a chain saw to cut down his 99 marijuana plants earlier this month, as Peter Hecht reports in this A1 Sacramento Bee story. The raid on Cohen’s Northstone Organics garden, which boasted of “farm direct” marijuana deliveries to medical users, has stoked a fierce [...]
HEALDSBURG — Three alleged marijuana growers have been arrested in the shooting death of a man in Healdsburg, authorities said today. Gabino Lopez Santiago, 46, of Healdsburg was shot in the chest, said Sonoma County sheriff’s Lt. Glenn Lawrence. His body was found dumped on the 5900 block of Mill Creek Road around 7 a.m. Sunday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Investigators believe Santiago was shot on Chemise Road, several miles from where his body was discovered. Deputies responding to reports of a shooting there at 2:15 a.m. found what appeared to be a crime [...]
Two Sonoma County lawyers behind a new statewide effort to legalize marijuana believe 2012 could be their year. Joe Rogoway and Omar Figueroa have drafted a ballot initiative that would repeal all laws against possessing pot, allowing anyone 18 or older to have up to three pounds and to maintain a 100-square-foot garden. The state Department of Public Health would oversee regulation and taxation of commercial sales, Paul Payne reports in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. The measure could go before voters at the November presidential election when turnout is expected to be larger and [...]
A member of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors and a sheriff’s sergeant testified Thursday in a Santa Rosa courtroom on behalf of two employees of a Ukiah medical marijuana cooperative charged with transporting pot through Sonoma County. Supervisor John McCowen and Sgt. Randy Johnson testified in the preliminary hearing for Daniel Harwood, 33, of Willits and Timothy Tangney, 29, of Lucerne. The employees of Northstone Organics were stopped twice in two days on Highway 101 near Cloverdale while delivering marijuana to people in the Bay Area. About three pounds of marijuana was seized and [...]
The one medical marijuana dispensary in Sebastopol, a city of 7,300, should be enough to serve the community’s needs, the City Council has decided. The council Tuesday night voted to urge county officials to reject a proposed medical marijuana dispensary just outside the city limits, complaining it would impact the city while outside the city’s control. “We allow for the needs of the medical cannabis community already,” said Mayor Guy Wilson. “I don’t feel it’s useful for us to support this.” The council also directed the city planning commission to amend Sebastopol’s ordinance regulating medical [...]
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