Pubdate: Sat, 5 Apr 2008
Source: Willits News (CA)
Copyright: 2008 Willits News
Contact:  http://www.willitsnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4085
Author: Mike A'Dair, TWN Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)

POT WAR GOES TO COURT

A second lawsuit seeking to block Measure B from appearing on the 
June ballot was filed last week.

The suit, filed by independent newspaper publisher Richard Johnson, 
follows an earlier lawsuit by Mendocino attorney E. D. Lerman on 
behalf of medical marijuana clients Paula Laguna and George Hanamoto.

The Lerman suit was filed March 26; Johnson's lawsuit the following day.

Both lawsuits contend Measure B is unconstitutional because it 
violates the "single subject rule." According to Johnson, that rule 
"is implicit in the state constitution. The state constitution 
forbids ballot initiatives from having more than one subject in order 
to prevent 'log rolling,' or the inclusion of high-profile subjects 
in an initiative merely to attract votes.

"The logic is that voters deserve the opportunity to consider matters 
separately, and some may want to reject one while accepting the 
other," Johnson said.

As written, Measure B contains two items. The first states that 
voters wish to nullify Measure G, which was approved in November 2000 
and sought to make cultivation, possession and transportation of 
marijuana the lowest priority for county law enforcement. Measure G 
stated law enforcement was to lay off any grow operation that had 25 
or fewer plants or the equivalent amount of dried pot.

The second section of Measure B states that the California minimum 
limits for marijuana cultivation and possession would also apply in 
Mendocino County. Although not explicitly stated in the measure, 
those standards state that six mature plants, 12 immature plants and 
eight ounces of processed marijuana may be possessed by an individual 
at any one time.

Tuesday, Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke rejected 
Johnson's pre-emptive request that Measure B not be allowed to go to 
the printer's for publication in the June ballot.

Johnson had requested a temporary restraining order (TRO). At a 
hearing on the matter, Behnke rejected Johnson's claim that a hurried 
judgment was in order. Instead, he set the date for a hearing on 
Johnson's suit for April 18.

The court will hear the arguments on the Lerman/Laguna/Hanamoto suit 
on April 11 at 9:30 a.m.

Both sides have been blitzing the press with a barrage of press releases.

"A carefully coordinated scare campaign has smeared marijuana farmers 
as environmental monsters, foreign criminals and violent thieves," 
Johnson said in one press release.

"They claim to be responding to neighborhood complaints about noises, 
smells and a generalized sensation of losing control of the 
community. Their real agenda is to eviscerate marijuana as an 
economic engine and as a political force before it threatens the 
existing establishment."

On the other side of the issue, Ukiah businessman Ross Liberty has 
emerged as a spokesman for the Yes On B Coalition.

"The opponents of Measure B are trying to prevent voters from taking 
a stand against marijuana abuses that cause a public nuisance, 
endanger public safety and trash the environment," said Liberty.

"The opponents won't be able to block a vote on Measure B because 
there are no legal grounds to do so. Measure B was drafted by the 
county counsel at the direction of the board of supervisors and meets 
all legal requirements. The opponents waited two and a half months to 
file this lawsuit. It is a blatant attempt to circumvent the right of 
the people to decide this critical issue," Liberty said.

According to former Mendocino County sheriff's Deputy D.J. Miller, 
the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reported 1106 marijuana-related 
offenses in the year 2000. In 2006, there were 1535 such offenses.

According to Liberty, the term "marijuana-related offenses" means 
incidents noted in police and sheriff's reports including crimes 
involving marijuana and incidents for which law enforcement responded 
to a call, and at which marijuana was noted as being present at the 
scene and judged by officers to be related to or involved with the 
dispute in question. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake