Ukiah -- Over some parts of town, the pungent, skunk-like odor of ripening marijuana is unmistakable. The smell is prompting a growing number of residents to hold their noses - and reach for their phones - to complain to Mendocino County air quality officials about the smell of their neighbors' legally sanctioned medical marijuana gardens. "It's becoming a real nuisance problem," said local Air Pollution Control Officer Dean Wolbach.
In some quarters, marijuana is Mendocino County's middle name. Every year, the county ranks among the state's top producers of pot thanks to the staggering volume of illicit weed grown in remote rural regions.
But the commotion over odors from legal marijuana gardens is new. It is the latest flap to erupt over Proposition 215, the 1996 voter-approved measure that legalized the cultivation and personal use of pot for medical reasons. Under county medical marijuana guidelines, a card-carrying pot grower can have up to 25 plants. "In a small area, that number of maturing plants can put out quite a smell," Ukiah Police Capt. Dan Walker noted Monday.
As the pot harvesting season nears its peak, the stink grows stronger. About a dozen odor complaints have been made so far this marijuana growing season, double what was reported last year, Wolbach said. The most gripes are coming from residents in older Ukiah neighborhoods, where back yards are small and neighbors' noses closer.
Not everyone is smelling the problem. District Attorney Norman Vroman on Monday disputed the odor concerns. "I haven't had one complaint about odor problems. I think Mr. Wolbach has too much time on his hands," he said. Vroman said even if Wolbach or other local officials can produce evidence of a mounting odor problems, he doubts he would prosecute. "We have a workable medical marijuana program operating here based on voter-approved Proposition 215," he said. Besides, he said, "I've got much more serious concerns than the stinky smell of pot." Besides clean air issues, Wolbach's office has jurisdiction over obnoxious odors, but how much authority he has to crack down on foul-smelling pot gardens is unclear. "I'm having discussions with the state Air Resources Board on how far my authority extends in this particular area," Wolbach said.
As it is, he said he can issue violations and impose fines in cases considered nuisances. But current regulations don't cover odors from medical marijuana gardens. "I hate to be at the forefront of this, given Mendocino's tolerance of medical marijuana," Wolbach said.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office has issued 1,340 cards allowing the cultivation or use of medical marijuana, according to statistics released last year by Sheriff Tony Craver. The cards - the most per capita anywhere on the North Coast - shield marijuana users from local prosecution.
But if the number of odor complaints keep rising, Wolbach said he may seek local regulations to ban medical marijuana gardens from residential neighborhoods. "My office takes no position on the merits of medical marijuana use. That's outside our purview," he said.
But no matter what public sentiments are about medical marijuana, Wolbach said he doesn't believe he or other local officials can ignore the odor complaints. "They're a nuisance, and I think we have to find some way to deal with them," he said.
Note: Residents complaining more to air pollution agency about odor from medical marijuana gardens.
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Author: Mike Geniella, The Press Democrat
In some quarters, marijuana is Mendocino County's middle name. Every year, the county ranks among the state's top producers of pot thanks to the staggering volume of illicit weed grown in remote rural regions.
But the commotion over odors from legal marijuana gardens is new. It is the latest flap to erupt over Proposition 215, the 1996 voter-approved measure that legalized the cultivation and personal use of pot for medical reasons. Under county medical marijuana guidelines, a card-carrying pot grower can have up to 25 plants. "In a small area, that number of maturing plants can put out quite a smell," Ukiah Police Capt. Dan Walker noted Monday.
As the pot harvesting season nears its peak, the stink grows stronger. About a dozen odor complaints have been made so far this marijuana growing season, double what was reported last year, Wolbach said. The most gripes are coming from residents in older Ukiah neighborhoods, where back yards are small and neighbors' noses closer.
Not everyone is smelling the problem. District Attorney Norman Vroman on Monday disputed the odor concerns. "I haven't had one complaint about odor problems. I think Mr. Wolbach has too much time on his hands," he said. Vroman said even if Wolbach or other local officials can produce evidence of a mounting odor problems, he doubts he would prosecute. "We have a workable medical marijuana program operating here based on voter-approved Proposition 215," he said. Besides, he said, "I've got much more serious concerns than the stinky smell of pot." Besides clean air issues, Wolbach's office has jurisdiction over obnoxious odors, but how much authority he has to crack down on foul-smelling pot gardens is unclear. "I'm having discussions with the state Air Resources Board on how far my authority extends in this particular area," Wolbach said.
As it is, he said he can issue violations and impose fines in cases considered nuisances. But current regulations don't cover odors from medical marijuana gardens. "I hate to be at the forefront of this, given Mendocino's tolerance of medical marijuana," Wolbach said.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office has issued 1,340 cards allowing the cultivation or use of medical marijuana, according to statistics released last year by Sheriff Tony Craver. The cards - the most per capita anywhere on the North Coast - shield marijuana users from local prosecution.
But if the number of odor complaints keep rising, Wolbach said he may seek local regulations to ban medical marijuana gardens from residential neighborhoods. "My office takes no position on the merits of medical marijuana use. That's outside our purview," he said.
But no matter what public sentiments are about medical marijuana, Wolbach said he doesn't believe he or other local officials can ignore the odor complaints. "They're a nuisance, and I think we have to find some way to deal with them," he said.
Note: Residents complaining more to air pollution agency about odor from medical marijuana gardens.
Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Author: Mike Geniella, The Press Democrat
