Humboldt supes ask feds to legalize marijuana

Supes ask feds to legalize marijuana
James Faulk/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 08/22/2007 04:30:14 AM PDT


EUREKA -- The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved a letter to state and federal representatives Tuesday asking for the legalization of marijuana.

The letter, penned by 2nd District Supervisor Roger Rodoni, cites law enforcement conundrums and potential revenue as reasons to lift the prohibition on marijuana.

”Humboldt County, like many other local governments throughout the nation, struggles with the issues associated with the legitimate medicinal use of marijuana, while advocating for the prosecution of criminal behavior associated with illegal large-scale marijuana operations,” said a supervisors' staff report. “The role of law enforcement has become increasingly clouded due to conflicts in interpretation of local, state and federal law.”

The regulation and taxation of marijuana would provide significant revenue for the county, Rodoni said.

The letter, passed 4 to 0 with 1st District Supervisor Jimmy Smith abstaining, is being sent to North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson, Sens. Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, President George W. Bush, Assemblywoman Patty Berg, state Sen. Patricia Wiggins and the county's Sacramento lobbyist Don


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Advertisement

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peterson.
”The time has come to call upon our federal government to support the legalization and taxation of this billion dollar crop,” Rodoni said.

Speakers at the meeting spoke overwhelmingly in favor of sending the letter.

Fred Green of Redway, however, blasted the proposal.

”I can't think of anything dumber than opening that door,” he said. “I've got an addict at home in a son, and it all started with that funny little plant that grows -- marijuana.”

If marijuana is made legal, then it won't be long before other, harder drugs follow, he said, like methamphetamine.

”We're just putting our toe in the water and testing this,” he said.

But Rita Carlson, a member of the Manila Community Services District Board of Directors, supported the letter wholeheartedly.

”Prohibition is wrong,” she said. “It's unconstitutional, and we have a duty to uphold the Constitution.”

Eric Heimstadt disagreed with the concerns of some that legalized marijuana would lead to large, corporate grows taking over the market and suffocating mom-and-pop operations like those in Humboldt County.

”It just doesn't prove out,” he said.

There are already instances where such competition is occurring, he said, in areas where the drug is already legal, and the mom-and-pop growers fare well against larger operations because they have better prices.

Smith explained his abstention by saying that while he could see why the other supervisors and others want to see reform in these laws, he needed more information.

He said he would have preferred a more comprehensive letter addressing education, the potential impacts on youth, health issues and intervention.

”I could fully understand from both sides of this that folks want to see something different happen, but there's more input that needs to occur,” he said.

In other business, the board also heard the annual report from the Humboldt County Human Rights Commission, which outlined the group's accomplishments for the past year and highlighted efforts by the group to research the possibility of forming some kind of police review oversight board.

The commission is in the process of interviewing 18 other citizen oversight committees in the state to see how they dealt with various issues surrounding the formation of such a group, said Chairman Richard Botzler.

The Board of Supervisors endorsed the idea of a community-wide discussion on the issue of police review, and asked Botzler to return at a later date with an agenda and a list of speakers.

Third District Supervisor John Woolley made it clear that this wasn't an endorsement of police review by the Board of Supervisors. The meetings on the issue will be to simply look at the concept, he said.


James Faulk can be reached at 441-0511 or jfaulk [at] times-standard.com.