Recreational marijuana smoking may be pervasive in Mendocino County but that doesn't make it OK, especially for government workers, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said Friday.
"I would welcome random drug testing for all government officials. And I'll be the first to sign up," he said Friday in the wake of the arrest of the county's top legal adviser.
Interim County Counsel Doug Losak was issued an infraction citation early Tuesday morning for allegedly possessing three grams of marijuana, enough for about two pot cigarettes. He also was given a misdemeanor citation for having an unloaded pistol concealed under the seat of his car.
Prosecutor's have not yet made a determination on whether to file charges. District Attorney David Eyster has refused to comment on the case or on the personal use of marijuana in general.
The incident has triggered a debate over whether it's acceptable for county officials to smoke pot.
Two members of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors have said the pot incident won't affect their opinion of Losak as the interim county counsel, a position that pays $120,000 annually. He's been in the job since last month. Losak also was in the running for the permanent county counsel position, which most recently paid $146,868 annually.
Losak remains on the job but is scheduled to meet with the board of supervisors Tuesday for a closed-door job performance review.
Allman said many people think of Mendocino County as a haven for pot smokers and that its recreational use should be acceptable. But that's not the case currently, he said.
"It's still against the law," he said. "I think it's very important that our citizens know that not all government officials are driving around with marijuana in their car," he said.
He said that while he favors random testing of county officials, he is not prepared to make a formal proposal to do so.
The county's reputation for pot-leniency was fueled in part by local regulations aimed at protecting medicinal marijuana growers from prosecution. Allman has been supportive of those regulations. He issued permits to cooperatives to grow up to 99 medical marijuana plants until federal authorities threatened to sue.
"It's legal in the state of California," he said of medical marijuana. "It doesn't matter whether I agree with it."
Allman recently has been working to reverse Mendocino County's pot friendly reputation, which has attracted new residents from around the world. His tactics include allowing a television film production company to document his department's marijuana eradication efforts this year.
(You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or Glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.)
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