Organic Veggies, Wine - Why Not Pot?

[IndianaToker]

By Glenda Anderson
Source: Press Democrat

Mendocino County, known for its organic wine and beer, may soon add marijuana to its list of certified organic products, a sign cannabis has become a mainstream crop. County agriculture officials are asking the state if they can legally certify medical marijuana as an organic product and regulate local pot farms, as they do pear orchards, vineyards and other crops.

"Only in Mendocino County," laughed Carre Brown, administrator of the county Farm Bureau, which represents farmers.

"We're going to be groundbreakers again. Maybe," said county Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Tony Linegar.

Breaking ground is nothing new in Mendocino County, which last year became the first county in the nation to ban genetically modified crops. It's only natural that marijuana would become the next frontier to regulate in the county, long known for its tolerance of the pot culture by local law enforcement.

Since California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, Mendocino pot farmers have started openly cultivating their plants in suburban backyards.

Now, they are seeking government guidance with their pest and pesticide problems.

Last year, 12 people brought in plants or buds to the agriculture commissioner's office to have their pests diagnosed, Linegar said.

"I was a little nervous sitting at my desk with a 6-foot pot plant," he said.

Two medical marijuana caregivers - people who legally grow pot for patients - have requested organic certification from the agriculture department, Linegar said.

Canada certifies organically-grown medical marijuana, but Mendocino County would be the first government agency in the United States to provide an organic seal of authenticity, said Dane Wilkins, director of the Northern California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

"I think it's a great idea because people who are sick or in pain using it medicinally deserve access to pot grown without toxic chemicals," he said.

In addition to asking the state if the county can certify organic pot, Agricultural Commissioner Dave Bengston wants to know if he should be inspecting marijuana "nurseries" for pests and ensuring cannabis club scales are accurate - duties his department performs for legitimate businesses.

He also wants to know if it is appropriate to advise medical marijuana growers on pests and pesticide use, something the department has been doing in a limited fashion with approval from local law enforcement.

Although Proposition 215 legalized medical pot, Linegar and Bengston are worried the federal government, which still considers it illegal, may take issue with the county's policy of helping growers.

"The legal waters are murky," Bengston wrote in a Jan. 21 letter to state Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura.

But the need is clear, Linegar said.

It's the county agriculture department's job to monitor pests and pesticide use to ensure public safety, he said. There have been reported cases of pot-related pesticide illness in other counties, Linegar said.

"We're trying to avoid that situation in our county," he said.

But it is difficult to give pesticide advice to medical pot growers.

Because marijuana is considered illegal under federal law, chemical companies have not developed pesticides to safely treat its pests, Linegar said.

Getting a pesticide studied and registered "costs millions of dollars," he said.

"If it's not a legal crop and they don't see a market for it, they don't want to spend the money," Linegar said.

As a result, medical marijuana growers - particularly those in it for the money alone - sometimes use dangerous pesticides to save their valuable plants, he said.

In Mendocino County, plants can produce upwards of three pounds worth $2,000 to $4,000 a pound on average.

"There's so much money involved, people don't care" which pesticides they use, Linegar said.

Indoor medical marijuana is particularly prone to mite infestations, Linegar said.

But last year, the big problem in all gardens was corn earworm, he said.

The worm burrows deep into marijuana buds and leaves bug feces, or frass, inside.

"It makes a horrible mess. It really ruins the product," Linegar said.

Linegar said he's discussed his department's predicament with a state pesticide official, who saw no problem with assisting medical marijuana growers.

But the county wants clear direction from the state - in writing - before ag officials begin regulating medical marijuana growers.

The county has not yet received a reply from the state, Linegar said.

"I know it's being discussed in smoke-filled rooms," he quipped.

Note: Mendocino County asking state for permission to place label on medical marijuana crop.

Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Author: Glenda Anderson, The Press Democrat
Published: Sunday, February 13, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/

[IndianaToker]

By Michelle Locke, Associated Press
Source: Associated Press

Berkeley, Calif. - Mendocino County, the rugged California outpost that was first in the nation to ban genetically modified crops, is striding toward a new agriculture frontier with a proposal to certify medical marijuana as organic. The notion of pesticide-free pot is eliciting a few chuckles. But county officials, who are waiting to hear back from the state agriculture secretary about their proposal, say the issue is quite serious - with no system to regulate cultivation, consumers are at risk.

"We regulate wine grape growers and pear growers and everybody else, so why shouldn't we also regulate pot growers?" said Tony Linegar, assistant agricultural commissioner for Mendocino County. "It's really an agricultural crop. In our estimate it should be subject to a lot of the same laws and regulations as commercial agriculture."

If the county got the go-ahead to regulate organic medical marijuana it would be "absolutely a first," said Allen St. Pierre of the Washington, D.C.-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Nationally, several states have approved medical marijuana, but federal authorities adamantly oppose the idea.

Meanwhile, medical marijuana has slowly moved toward the mainstream, albeit in piecemeal fashion, with local law enforcement agencies issuing "user cards," and insurance companies honoring claims for stolen plants.

Regulating cultivation would be "a huge leap in the public discourse and policy making in that it recognizes that medical cannabis is legal but it needs to have some sort of local controls placed on it," said St. Pierre.

In Mendocino County, where two medical marijuana growers have asked for organic certification, Linegar said he and his colleagues are looking for some direction.

Mendocino County Agricultural Commissioner Dave Bengston wrote to the state department of food and agriculture last month, asking if the county can certify pot as organic and if employees should be inspecting marijuana nurseries to check for pests and other problems as they do with other crops.

Department spokesman Jay Van Rein said Monday the secretary is evaluating the request.

Linegar said he could not estimate how much marijuana is grown in Mendocino County, about 100 miles north of San Francisco, although it generally is considered prime pot territory.

The first time someone brought in a pot plant for a health check, was "awkward," he said.

Problems facing marijuana growers range from mites and mildew for indoor operations to the cornmeal worm outdoors.

With no products officially developed for marijuana cultivation, some growers have been using chemicals intended for ornamental plants, which could make users sick, said Linegar.

Mendocino set a pot precedent in 2000 with a ballot issue allowing residents to grow a small amount of marijuana - the move was largely symbolic since state and federal prohibitions rule.

Last year, county voters passed a first-in-the-nation measure banning the raising of genetically engineered plants and animals.

"When things like this crop up it's almost our county that's on the cutting left edge if you will," Linegar said. "When I'm discussing these issues with my counterparts in other counties, they really can't relate to the problems that we're facing in Mendocino. They laugh sometimes. But to us it's really a serious issue."

Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Author: Michelle Locke, Associated Press
Published: February 14, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Associated Press
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20237.shtml

[IndianaToker]

By Glenda Anderson, The Press Democrat
Source: Press Democrat

Mendocino County may be pot friendly, but it cannot provide its seal of approval to organic marijuana grown for medicinal use. In a curt letter sent this week, the state Department of Food and Agriculture forbade the county from certifying organic pot or regulating the crop in any way. However, another state agency said it's probably safe for county agriculture officials to advise individual pot growers on pesticide use.

The mixed messages demonstrate the erratic application of the 1996 California law legalizing medicinal marijuana.

But the answers satisfied Mendocino County ag regulators, who sought guidance from the state last month after receiving several requests from local medical-marijuana growers for organic certification, a service the county can provide to growers of other legal crops.

Mendocino County Agricultural Commissioner Dave Bengston asked state regulators if his office should certify organic medical marijuana and regulate the crop to protect consumers from dangerous pesticides.

In addition, the county asked whether it should regulate medical-marijuana growers and inspect their crops, as it does for vineyards, pear orchards and other legal farm products.

It raised the question after a dozen people brought their medical pot-growing problems and pesticide concerns to the department in the past year, according to Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Tony Linegar.

But the state Agriculture Department ruled the county has no business regulating medical pot growers.

"This department and you as our agent do not certify, register, etc., illegal activities. Either growing or sale of marijuana violates federal law (even the growth of one marijuana plant) and that is a federal issue not one within the purview of this department or you," John Dyer, chief counsel to the state Agriculture Department, wrote in a Feb. 28 letter to the county.

Medical marijuana activists, who supported pot certification, on Wednesday criticized the department's missive.

It's a case of "cowardly bureaucrats hiding behind federal law," said Dale Gieringer, Bay Area coordinator for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

It also shows that inconsistencies continue to plague efforts to implement Proposition 215 more than eight years after it was approved by voters, he said.

The 1996 initiative legalized the growth and use of marijuana for treatment of health problems, with a doctor's approval.

An official at the state Agriculture Department declined to explain the decision.

"The letter is our statement," said Steve Lyle, the department's public affairs director.

In contrast to the Agriculture Department, the state Department of Health Services this year will begin an identification card program intended to protect medical pot patients from being arrested or their plants confiscated by authorities.

And, in response to a similar letter from Bengston, the state Department of Pesticide Regulation said it was probably legal for the office to advise individual medical pot growers on pesticide use.

However, the state urged Bengston to steer clear of advising cannabis clubs, which sell medical marijuana.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a portion of California's law that allows individuals to grow and possess medical marijuana, wrote Mary-Ann Warmerdam, director of pesticide regulation. But she cautioned that it is illegal to commercially sell and distribute medicinal pot.

Any pesticide advice given to medical pot growers will be limited to telling them not to use any, Linegar said.

He noted Warmerdam confirmed his belief there are no pesticides that can be legally used on marijuana.

Regardless of the state Agriculture Department's edict, Linegar said his department is mandated by law to investigate all potential pesticide poisonings.

"If we can collect evidence and prove there is an illegal use of pesticides resulting in illness, that certainly would be subject to enforcement action, including a fine," he said.

Though he was expecting a longer response, Linegar said the Agriculture Department's three-sentence letter adequately answered his and Bengston's questions.

"We asked for a clear and concise response in writing. We believe the response we received is very clear and very concise and leaves no doubt in our minds how to proceed," he said.

Mendocino County can advise on pesticide use.

Source: Press Democrat, The (CA)
Author: Glenda Anderson, The Press Democrat
Published: Thursday, March 3, 2005
Copyright: 2005 The Press Democrat
Contact: letters@pressdemo.com
Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/
Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20319.shtml