Pubdate: Sun, 11 May 2014 Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA) Copyright: 2014 Chico Enterprise-Record Contact: http://www.chicoer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861 Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority Author: Don Walker Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n393/a04.html CITIZENS SHOULD RISE UP, BAN ALL MARIJUANA GROWING A petition to stop pot growing regulation? Let's start a petition to ban all pot growing in Butte County. Letter writer Chris Short unintentionally makes a great case why we should ban pot growing by individuals. What should be done, like the liquor industry, would be licensed, controlled (preferably indoor) grow areas. I don't have any problem with people smoking pot indoors for either medical or recreational needs. Herein lays the problem. Chris sounds like a responsible person, but look at her/his own words. "Yes, there are criminal elements and cartels growing huge gardens for profit. Yes there are unruly growers with guns and dogs. There are also growers who are good people with guns and dogs to protect their property and legal garden from criminals who would rather steal than work." Great, now I have a nice, responsible (albeit stoned) neighbor growing legal pot that may draw a criminal element and the possibly a gunfight next door. Wonderful. We had the right motive when we voted to have pot available to people who need it, but it simply has not worked. We need to set up a system that works for all. Individual grows should be banned simply for the reasons stated above. We need controlled licensed grows, preferably indoor. We need to organize a petition to end individual pot growing and show we are fed up and won't take it anymore. - - Don Walker, Chico - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom