Public Safety, Health & Welfare | Daily Report

Mendocino County officials have approved sweeping regulations aimed at ending the county’s long-running pot wars and harnessing the economic power of the region’s number one crop.

On a 3-2 vote, the county Board of Supervisors adopted the plan yesterday amid a long-running debate over whether Mendocino should embrace or reject its reputation as California’s pot capital (sorry Humboldt County).

“This vote bridges the divide in this county and bring an end to the polarization that has burdened our community for the past years,” said Matthew Cohen, an organic farmer who runs a medical marijuana collective near Ukiah.

Many localities around California have imposed regulations or bans on dispensaries (storefronts) that provide marijuana to patients who qualify under state law.

But the new regulations in Mendocino could be the first in the state to create a legal framework for marijuana growers, treating them like any other business.

The plan stipulates that all growers must operate as non-profit collectives – in line with state guidelines – but it also requires collectives to pay sales tax to the state Board of Equalization “if they intend to sell directly to qualified patients or primary caregivers.”

To coax more growers into the open, the ordinance raises the number of pot plants that can be cultivated on a parcel of land to 99 (from 25). But only if the grower follows state guidelines and gets a special permit from Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman.

Here's what Sheriff Allman told me this morning on KQED’s California Report:

“What we are saying is if you are going to grow the 99 plants, law enforcement is going to have full access to your property. We're going to be able to inspect, we're going to be able to see how healthy your plants are, and if you have seven-pound plants, you're going to have a real problem because that’s too much pot.”

Supporters hope the plan will reduce environmental damage caused by “guerrilla growers,” move pot cultivation out of towns to more remote areas and raise more tax receipts for cash-strapped local governments.