At first glance, it had all the makings of a major drug bust.About 40 Lodi police and firefighters raided a commercial warehouseTuesday, Sept. 14, and found 30 pot plants worth roughly $4,200,along with two pounds of what appeared to be crystalmethamphetamine.
But the bust turned out to be, well ... a bust.
The Lodi man and his mother who rented the 1,500-square-footshop had medical marijuana cards, making their small pot-growingoperation perfectly legal. and the meth? that turned out to beplain old deodorizer used to mask the pungent smell of maturingmarijuana plants.
But the case has highlighted the murky rules surrounding thelegal cultivation of marijuana for medicinal use. Police are oftenforced to navigate the uncharted territory of determining whichgrowing operations are legitimate and which are not.
“It puts the city in a very difficult position in terms ofenforcement,†said Stephen Schwabauer, Lodi’s city attorney.
He said city officials have had to hold back from settingmarijuana guidelines for law enforcement because state regulationsare ever-changing, and any standards established by Lodi officialsin the meantime will likely have to be altered.
The cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana isn’tgoverned by any California regulations. the state leaves it tocounty and city governments to establish pot-growing guidelines,which vary widely. for example, San Joaquin County allows 6 matureplants or 12 immature plants and up to 8 ounces of processedmarijuana for legal operations. Sonoma County, meanwhile, allowsthe growing of up to 30 plants and permits the possession of threepounds of marijuana.
Although patients are required to receive a doctor’sprescription before obtaining a medicinal marijuana card, there isno system in place for various jurisdictions to keep track of whohas them, according to George Mull, Sacramento attorney and founderof the California Cannabis Association. the result is that policehave to decide which suspected pot building to raid and which toleave alone.
“You’re asking a police officer to act like a judge,†Mullsaid.
Police raided the warehouse on Auto Center Drive becauseneighboring businesses complained about the smell of marijuanawafting through the walls. Narcotics officers monitored thebuilding for several days and unsuccessfully tried to contact therenter, Darren Dean.
“(The smell is) strong enough to upset us,†said Jeff Kester,owner of Embroidery Works next door to the growing house. “You’vegot to open the door so you don’t get a headache.â€
Closer observation by narcotics investigators revealed that thebuilding was using six times the amount of electricity commonlyused by similar-sized tenants. Dean had told the property ownerthat the space was being used to store painting materials. Ladders,drop cloths and painting supplies were stored alongside thecustom-built marijuana growing structure inside the smallwarehouse.
Part of the concern from city officials is safety. Firefightersfrequently respond to fires started by poorly built marijuanagrowing equipment. Last month, an apartment in Boulder Creek nearSanta Cruz was damaged by a fire sparked by jerry-rigged lightingfixtures in an in-house pot garden.
In fact, it is more common for pot growers to be cited forbuilding code violations than for growing the drug itself,according to Mull. Growers frequently overtax indoor electricallines by adding additional outlets for lights meant to nourish theplants. the moisture given off by indoor marijuana gardens can alsolead to problems with toxic black mold.
Mull said he couldn’t think of any state law that specificallyprohibits growing in industrial buildings, and the laws that applyto ordinary indoor vegetable growing generally apply to marijuanagrowing operations as well.
“Unless you have an ordinance in place, you don’t need a specialpermit (to grow marijuana),†he said.
But marijuana advocates like Mull and law enforcement officialsagree that the lack of an official permit process has led tomisunderstandings like the Dean raid.
“There’s no way to know unless someone puts a sign in front oftheir house saying they’re a legal grower,†said Gary Armstrong,retired Stockton police officer and past president of theCalifornia Narcotic Officers Association.
According to Lodi spokesperson Jeff Hood, the Lodi FireDepartment spent $1,600 for 18 hours of overtime for fireresponders for the Dean incident. the Lodi Police Department didn’tincur any extra cost from the raid, but Hood said the real costscome from lost opportunity and wasted time.
“It would be a lot easier if it was a legal prescription drugthat you picked up at the pharmacy,†Schwabauer said.
In November, Californians will vote on whether to furtherbroaden the definition of legal pot and enact some form oftaxation. Proposition 19 permits local governments to impose andcollect taxes from marijuana growers and sellers. Proponents hopethe initiative will help clear up some of the confusion over how toregulate the substance. Law enforcement officials almostuniversally oppose the proposition, saying it will further muddythe waters of drug enforcement.
Regardless of whether the law passes, the sale and possession ofmarijuana remains illegal under the federal Controlled SubstancesAct.
According to Dean’s neighbors, he has been allowed two weeks toharvest his crop before the property owner begins the process ofevicting him.
“I’d like to know if this is legal or illegal — bottom line,â€said Armstrong.
Contact reporter Ryan Campbell atryanc@lodinews.com.
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Lodi police grapple with fuzzy marijuana regulations - Lodi News-Sentinel: News
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Negative... that would not be considered "Law Enforcement"...next time she says something, you should say "And which types of laws did you enforce??"