[This November Nevada County voters will decide whether to adopt a new and revised marijuana ordinance or keep the existing one. The marijuana cultivation issue continues to generate more heat than light. Here is one comparative analysis that was published in the September edition of The Nugget, the monthly newsletter of Nevada County Republican Women Federated. Its author Jo Ann Rebane is 2nd VP and Legislative Chair of the NCRWF. (She also happens to be my wife.)
The piece includes a downloadable pdf of a spreadsheet that compares by attribute the current ordinance with the ballot’s Measure S. I have also included that spreadsheet below the text. Readers may wish to consider and share a third column that contains their druthers for a new ordinance. gjr]
Jo Ann Rebane
For a moment, set aside these facts: that Marijuana is listed by the Federal Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule 1 Drug which has a high potential for abuse; that, according to Dr. Mitchell S. Rosenthal founder of Phoenix House, substance abuse treatment and prevention center, “…pot damages the heart and lungs, increases the incidence of anxiety, depression and schizophrenia…”; that marijuana does lasting damage to the brains of adolescents and it impairs learning, memory and judgment according to Dr. Nora Volkow’s research at Northwestern University; that Colorado and Washington states have legalized recreational use of marijuana; that California voters in 1996 approved Prop 215 allowing marijuana cultivation for medical purposes only; and that cities and counties may adopt and enforce ordinances consistent with the state’s health and safety code.
What we do need to focus on right here in Nevada County is Measure S on the November ballot. According to Nevada County Supervisor Richard Anderson, proponents of Measure S want voters to replace a liberal ordinance with a more liberal ordinance. The current medical marijuana cultivation ordinance, adopted in May 2012 specifies where, how, and how much medical marijuana may be cultivated in unincorporated residential and agricultural areas of the county. The current ordinance has enforcement, appeal and abatement provisions, and provides the community a means to alleviate nuisance marijuana “grows” and encourages those who legitimately grow it for their personal medical use to be good neighbors.
Measure S reached our ballot as an initiative – written for and circulated by the Nevada County branch of Americans for Safe Access, possibly as a test case for a statewide push at a later date. The Nevada County Board of Supervisors, the Coalition for a Drug Free Nevada County and the Nevada County Republican Party each oppose Measure S. They find that, if approved, every aspect of the current medical marijuana cultivation ordinance would be loosened, favoring growers and disadvantaging the general welfare of the community. Measure S weakens and removes current code provisions. Measure S increases the allowed square footage of indoor “grows” by 500% in the extreme. Measure S replaces the square footage limits for outdoor “grows” with specific immature and mature marijuana plant numbers and allows indoor and outdoor cultivation on the same parcel. Measure S also allows renters to cultivate medical marijuana without obtaining their landlord’s written permission to use his property in that way and to make changes to his electrical and plumbing systems without his knowledge. Measure S allows cultivation of medical marijuana without limitation in and on parcels zoned for commercial, business park, office professional, airport, and industrial.
Finally, Measure S reduces the set-back buffer distance from schools, churches, parks, daycare centers and youth facilities by 40% and removes set-back requirements from outdoor living areas and school bus stops. Sheriff Keith Royal notes that Measure S eliminates enforcement, appeal, and abatement provisions which will leave the county no means to respond to citizen complaints regarding nuisance marijuana “grows”. When does a garden become a commercial truck farm?
I have made a detailed comparison of the current medical marijuana cultivation ordinance and Measure S. It is available on our website as a printable pdf www.nevadacountyrwf.org .
[4sep14 update] The Union ran a page-one story on Measure S and this piece today. Here is the link to the same piece in its e-edition.
[6sep14 update] It occurred to me that no one has discussed how subsequent action may take place on an ordinance instituted through a ballot measure. While a BoS initiated ordinance may be repealed or modified by a vote of the BoS, California code requires that ordinances instituted through ballot measures must come to a vote of the people again if they are to be amended or repealed. The spreadsheet below has been updated to include this subject/category.]
[The spreadsheet is also available here Download Marijuana Meas S study 17aug14 (v6sep14) . The current code – Ordinance 2349 – is available here (10MB download); and a copy of Measure S is available here.]
rebanesruminations.com 
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