Lake County disbands pot advisory board

Lake County supervisors on Tuesday disbanded their medical marijuana cultivation advisory board, saying that trying to find middle ground with pot growers has been a waste of time and resources.

"It's like a dog chasing its tail. It's just pointless," said Supervisor Rob Brown.

The action was triggered by a lawsuit filed Thursday against the county by Don Merrill, a member of the advisory board. Merrill and several other medical marijuana users are suing over a temporary ordinance the board adopted last week during daylong hearing attended by an estimated 400 people, most of them marijuana advocates. The lawsuit claims the limits set in the ordinance are illegal.

Supervisors had increased the number of plants allowed by the interim, 45-day ordinance to placate the marijuana contingency. It allows up to six mature plants to be grown outdoors on parcels smaller than a half-acre. The amount increases with the acreage and is capped at 48 plants for cooperatives with more than 40 acres.

The numbers of plants in the temporary ordinance was based largely on figures that the advisory committee, including Merrill, had tentatively agreed to, noted supervisors Tony Farrington and Denise Rushing, who sat on the advisory board. They resigned from the advisory board after the lawsuit was filed.

Farrington said the lawsuit was just the latest difficulty in a three-year effort to create marijuana regulations that that balance the interests of medicinal marijuana users and the rest of the community.

"It's the straw that broke the camel's back," he said.

The board last year adopted an ordinance that banned all outdoor growing but repealed it when faced with a referendum effort by marijuana growers.

The marijuana growers then gathered enough signatures to place their own ordinance on the ballot. It allowed up to 84 marijuana plants. It was soundly defeated by voters in June.

Farrington said he now believes the best way to settle the issue is to create an ordinance with public input, then ask voters for a yes or no vote.

Tuesday's vote to disband the advisory board was 4-1, with Supervisor Jeff Smith saying he'd like to continue its efforts.