Medical Marijuana Cultivation, Possession May Be Reduced by Board of Supervisors

Sonoma County's Board of Supervisors will consider today reducing the amount of marijuana that medical marijuana patients and their caregivers may possess and cultivate.

Under a resolution approved by the board in 2006, patients with a valid medical marijuana identification card or their primary caregiver may possess up to three pounds of dried cannabis a year and no more than 30 plants grown within a 100-square-foot garden.

The board will consider a resolution to repeal that ordinance and set the allowable amounts to eight ounces of dried marijuana and no more than six mature or 12 immature plants in compliance with California's Health and Safety Code.

The resolution states the cultivation of marijuana in the county has increased dramatically since 2006 and resulted in a lucrative criminal trade around illegal cultivation.

The resolution also states Sonoma County is perceived as more lenient than other counties regarding marijuana cultivation.

The board previously voted to limit the number of marijuana dispensaries in the county to nine.

The board also will consider establishing an ordinance prohibiting the marijuana cultivation in unoccupied residential buildings, known as "grow houses," and establishing a Marijuana Taskforce modeled on the county's Methamphetamine Taskforce "to establish a stronger interdiction effort around the illegal use of marijuana in Sonoma County."

The Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana is expected to protest the proposed changes to the allowable amounts of medical marijuana for patients and caregivers.