Last May, when two Santa Rosa men were arrested and accused of pistol whipping a Ukiah-area woman in her home and then robbed her of marijuana, Mendocino County experienced its third pot-related home invasion in just 37 days. In 2007, frightened and frustrated citizens throughout the county appeared repeatedly before the Board of Supervisors with disturbing stories and scary examples of what is happening in residential neighborhoods taken over by illegal large scale marijuana growers. "We are on the verge of an 1851 San Francisco post-gold rush," said Dennis Smart, a 30-plus-year resident of a rural area south of Ukiah, at the Dec. 11 Board of Supervisors' meeting. "Vigilante committees are forming. You folks sit on a powder keg. You have unleashed an ugly parasite on this county that we can't quite get a handle on anymore. [continues 2086 words]
The City Council will be considering possible adoption of an ordinance that would require medicinal marijuana dispensaries to obtain a regulatory permit and agree to certain operational restrictions. The ordinance would also define what constitutes a medical marijuana dispensary, add marijuana dispensaries as a conditional use in industrial zones, and define operational criteria for dispensaries. The ordinance will come before the council at the May 23 meeting and will come back to the council, if approved, at the June 13 meeting for final adoption. [continues 224 words]
The recent notification by police and action by Rite Aid management concerning the spike in sales of a particular form of dust removing spray has gotten local and national attention. According to police Lt. Floyd Higdon, many empty containers of a computer cleaning and dusting agent, made by Endust are being found in areas where officers commonly find empty beer and alcohol containers, such as local parks. Law enforcement officials believe that the product is being used for 'huffing," a process wherein a subject breathes the fumes of the product to achieve a feeling of euphoria, similar to that of alcohol or other narcotics. Officers have not encountered anyone actually abusing the product locally, said Higdon. [continues 794 words]
Mendocino County Sheriff Tony Craver agrees things are confusing when it comes to medical marijuana. "It's a nightmare," he said. "It's confusing to everybody." Craver said pot plants grown by medical marijuana ID cardholders at their homes are "left alone." "We have no statutory authority to establish guidelines as to where they have to have gardens, security measures to take, etc.," he said. "The people who are empowered and technically obligated to clean this up, the Legislature, has been unable to do this. There's a whole myriad of issues they're stumbling around over." [continues 1179 words]
- - Mendocino Drug & Alcohol Testing, a relatively short-lived Fort Bragg business, will close its doors for good on Feb. 28, according to a fax from general partners Kent Brown and Gloria Renteria. They write: "We are pleased to have offered an important service to our community. We deeply regret to say that we have not experienced our projected revenue base, due, in large measure, to a lack of support from local businesses. It's a sad commentary when many of our friends, local business owners, suggest that if they drug tested their employees, they'd be out there doing all the work themselves. 'Don't ask, don't tell' seems to be a local motto." On the other hand, drug testing is already available via local physicians, Coast Hospital and a Ukiah-based testing service. A lot of employers also keep an eye out for employees who start their day with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Dr. Pepper. [end]
Mendocino Drug & Alcohol Testing, a relatively short-lived Fort Bragg business' will close its doors for good on Feb. 28 according to a fax. from general partners Kent Brown and Gloria Renteria. They write: "We are pleased to have offered an important service to our community. We deeply regret to say that we have not experienced our projected revenue base, due, in large measure, to a lack of support from local businesses. It's a sad commentary when many of our friends, local business owners, suggest that if they drug tested their employees, they'd be out there doing all the work themselves. 'Don't ask, don't tell' seems to be a local motto." On the other hand, drug testing is already available via local physicians, Coast Hospital and a Ukiah-based testing service. A lot of employers also keep an eye out for employees who start their day with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Dr. Pepper. [end]
Mendocino County Sheriff Tony Craver and District Attorney Norman Vroman recently released their annual statistics for arrest, prosecution, and convictions for marijuana offenses, Mendocino County Voter approved Measure G requires the sheriff and district attorney to submit annual statistics to the Board of Supervisors. For 2001, the sheriff reports that a total of 139,051 marijuana plants have been eradicated by his department, 138,525 of which were uprooted by the County of Mendocino Marijuana Eradication Team (COMMET) and 526 of which were pulled by the patrol division. As to the number of sites searched, 391 were visited by COMMET and 12 by the patrol division. As to the number of arrests, COMMET took 55 suspects into custody for illegal cultivation compared to 13 arrests by patrol. The patrol division reports 52 arrests were made for illegal possession of marijuana. [continues 420 words]
