Pack Ruling Threatens Mendocino Cultivation Law

The one-of-a-kind cooperation between medical marijuana growers and the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department — which legitimized cannabis cultivation in the eyes of the law and saved the jobs of deputies facing layoffs — is at risk, pending the outcome of a court case.

Since 2010, Mendocino County marijuana growers with a doctor’s recommendation have been permitted to license plants with Sheriff Tom Allman’s department, Chris Roberts reports in S.F. Weekly. Growers wishing to cultivate up to 99 plants must pay the Sheriff’s Department an inspection fee and a $50 per-plant permit fee under chapter 9.31 of the Mendocino County Code. In return, growers receive zip-ties that mark each of their 99 plants as certified legal, and the promise that the inspected medical marijuana crop won’t be raided by local law enforcement.