California Growers Win!! - Salem-News.Com

These new rights would not be possible if individuals and collectives alike had not joined together and fought for their legal right to grow medicinal cannabis.

(SACRAMENTO, CA) - This month of June is the best part of the year for Prop. 215 patients here in California. Many have put in their garden and some are working hard to get their garden put in.

The growing season is a exciting time for people, it's the chance to grow their own medicine and control the production of the healing cannabis plant. This year has seen an influx of new opportunities in two particular counties Butte and Yuba. Both of these counties have made landmark legal strides, and for patients in their localities to have legal ordinances allowing them to grow certain amounts of plants depending on their homes acreage.

These new rights would not be possible if individuals and collectives alike had not joined together and fought for their legal right to grow medicinal cannabis. In each county mentioned the patients groups that formed had fought through memorandums, improper ordinances, and even bans. Through utilizing the law and our our system of checks and balances.

The Butte Citizens for Compassionate Use and Save Butte Growers Rights of Butte County pulled together to fight a long hard won battle to have their rights to Prop. 215 medicine upheld. The Butte County DA Mike Ramsey and Sheriff Jerry Smith had attempted to convince the county supervisors to ban the growers, and their right to produce their medicine.

This resulted in a vote No on Measure A campaign, which was eventually won by Butte growers.

In Yuba County the same circumstances appeared, with a Yuba County Growers Association being formed. The county initially tried to adopt a poorly written ordinance produced by the district attorney Patrick McGrath and Sheriff Steve L. Durfor. This ordinance was challenged by the growers association in court, and finally was re-written with the growers associations verbiage included. To date both of these counties patients groups have won major victories for their areas. Once both of the counties were considered the most anti cannabis environments for growers, with raids being conducted at will against legal patients. Now these two areas are models of how to do it right, and win victories in what many considered to be unthinkable odds.

Congratulations to all of the people who spoke up, voted, and fought for the rights of others!

Eric Salerno is a Salem-News.com writer from Butte County, California. His background is with State and Federal Agencies assisting in recovery efforts in disaster stricken states.

In 2008 he began advocating for medical marijuana in his home state. This journey began after the supervisors in his district of Butte County enacted a moratorium on legal Prop. 215 patients rights to access and grow their own medicine. He was one of only 10 people to show up at the meeting and voice his concerns with their actions.

That year a coalition of mores than 300 residents was formed and a Vote NO on measure A campaign began. These residents of Butte County united to stop the interference of the county.

This campaign was successful with a large voter drive initiative and media campaign securing 55% of the voters saying NO on measure A.

Today Eric works endlessly from Southern California to Northern California advising and implementing political tactics, to ensure every Californian has the right to access legal safe medicine under the law.

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Mike Corbeil June 20, 2013 6:40 am (Pacific time)

Looks very good and breaks my heart, for it's illegal here (Quebec, Canada, a supposedly progressive place) to grow natural herbal medicine of this sort and which is a sort that shouldn't require human prescription. If you want prescription for consuming natural herbs, then God permanently granted His/Her prescription. Believe in Scripture or not, but it says that God provided all of the plants, seeds, nuts that we need and thought He/She did such a good job that He/She took the 7th day off for a break. I can agree with that and even atheists who appreciate good herb can appreciate this part of Scripture. :)

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