Pot Farms Still Illegal, Sheriff's Officials Say

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By City News Service

Growing marijuana for sale as a commodity remains illegal and could land violators behind bars -- despite some pot growers’ claims that it’s perfectly legal, Riverside County officials said.

“The Sheriff’s Department would like to remind landlords, property owners and renters that growing and selling marijuana for profit is illegal in California,” sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Manning said. “Those who allow marijuana cultivation on their property are subject to arrest and prosecution.”

Manning said the department felt compelled to underscore the illegality of outdoor cannabis grows after recent arrests and the seizure of 816 marijuana plants in Mead Valley.

So far this year, 37 suspects have been booked on suspicion of marijuana cultivation, and sheriff’s personnel have eradicated 36,700 plants and impounded 254 pounds of processed weed, as well as seized $78,000 in cash, according to Manning.

“State law is very specific: California has decriminalized the growth and use of marijuana only for seriously ill individuals with a doctor’s prescription, and only in small amounts reasonably necessary to accommodate an individual’s medical condition,” the sergeant said.

During the 2014 April-September harvest season, sheriff’s investigations in unincorporated communities resulted in 90 cultivation-related arrests and the eradication of 75 grows, he said.

“Drug traffickers will often approach homeowners or renters on large parcels and offer payment in exchange for allowing them to grow marijuana on the property,” Manning said. “The traffickers then hire a third party to maintain the plants and harvest the marijuana. But contrary to drug traffickers’ claims, California law does not allow the growth or sale of marijuana for profit.”

The county Board of Supervisors last year drew up tentative provisions for ordinances that would allow limited cultivation of medical marijuana in unincorporated areas. Under the plan, individuals prescribed medicinal cannabis and their caregivers would be permitted to grow a dozen plants on a patient’s property.

County staff are still drafting the proposal, which Supervisor Kevin Jeffries brought forward as a means to enable legitimate users to have the drug while cracking down on commercial operators. Jeffries said that in 2014, he identified 250-300 outdoor grows in Good Hope, Mead Valley and Meadowbrook.

Under the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996, also known as Proposition 215, the possession and cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes is legal. However, localities can regulate how and where.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration still views marijuana as a Schedule 1 narcotic prohibited under the federal Controlled Substances Act.