Riverside Supervisors Seek Specific Rules on Marijuana Grows

By PAUL J. YOUNG, City News Service:

Riverside County supervisors voted last week to rewrite zoning and land-use regulations to permit limited cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes and to crack down on individuals or groups growing the drug commercially.

“There are a lot of challenges with this issue,” said Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, who spearheaded the effort to devise a regulatory framework to control marijuana harvesting. “We’re trying to reach a consensus. And that’s meant taking a different approach in attempting to carve out provisions to meet the needs of legitimate medical marijuana patients.”

In a 4-0 vote, with Supervisor John Tavaglione on vacation, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday directed county staff to begin the process of drawing up proposed amendments to the county’s zoning law and drafting a proposed stand-alone ordinance -- all of which would define how and where medical marijuana can be grown in unincorporated communities.

The changes are expected to be brought back for consideration during public hearings early next year.

“There need to be provisions to have some (cannabis) plants on property and not utilize the government to go after them,” Jeffries said. “On the other hand, we need to recognize the sorts who are doing this for commercial profit, including gangs and cartels. They should not be in business at all, and definitely not in the backyards of residential communities.”

In July, the supervisor introduced a proposal that would have imposed immediate penalties on private and commercial marijuana growers. Jeffries complained about the 250-300 outdoor grows identified during surveys conducted by his staff, saying the activity was contributing to violent crime in the Good Hope, Mead Valley and Meadowbrook areas.

Medical marijuana advocates countered that in taking a one-size-fits-all punitive approach, Jeffries was putting legitimate users at risk of suffering unjustifiable criminal penalties. Board Chairman Jeff Stone, a pharmacist, agreed.

Jeffries backed off his initial plan and returned to the board today with alternative proposals, requiring rewrites to the county’s zoning and land- use regulations.

Under the new approach, “registered” medical marijuana patients, who have county-issued documentation certifying their eligibility to use the drug medicinally, along with their caregivers, would be exempt from county enforcement action in the unincorporated areas.

According to Jeffries’ proposal, the following criteria would apply:

• a patient would be entitled to have 12 cannabis plants on his or her property
• two patients on the same parcel would bring the total to 24 plants, but that would be the maximum
• at least one patient or a registered caregiver must live at the location
• marijuana must be secured to prevent access by minors
• the grow cannot be closer than 10 feet from a roadway and 50 feet to a neighboring residence
• the grow must not be visible from a right-of-way
• convicted felons, parolees or probationers cannot reside on the parcel
• the property address must be plainly visible
• fencing or other structures erected for concealment or security must comply with the county building code

Jeffries said the standards are subject to change.

“There are pharmacological benefits to marijuana,” Stone said. “The ordinance would make allowances for those who legitimately need it and punish those who are growing it commercially.”

Jeffries suggested that any non-registered user who cultivates less than a dozen marijuana plants in an unincorporated community could be charged with an infraction, facing fines ranging from $10 to $200, while anyone who cultivates more than a dozen plants could be charged with a misdemeanor, facing penalties that include fines of $1,000 or more and six months in jail.

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.

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