San Andreas, CA…I have been repeatedly asked about Marijuana and the safety of Calaveras citizens. Last year the voters of California chose to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and to allow the small scale cultivation of marijuana. In addition, marijuana cultivation has now become a land use issue based upon decisions by the voters and the Board of Supervisors. In 2016, the previous Calaveras County Board of Supervisors chose to allow large commercial cultivation inside of residential areas of Calaveras County through an “Urgency Ordinance.”
The Sheriff’s Office firmly stands behind the need to remove commercial Marijuana cultivation from our neighborhoods. I believe growing large amounts of marijuana in neighborhoods in not safe and results in both violent conflicts and quality of life nuisances (noise/odor) that affect those who choose to live a quiet peaceful life in their homes and neighborhoods.
While much of the marijuana processes are now being handled through Code Enforcement and the Planning Department, the Sheriff’s Office will still actively investigate criminal activity involving marijuana and all other illegal drugs.
The Sheriff’s Office places our citizen’s safety first. We will work together with our citizens to keep them safe.
The Sherriff’s Office does not want/rely upon marijuana funds to operate our office and keep our citizens safe.
Whether marijuana is banned or regulated, it is up to the BOS to sufficiently fund the Sheriff’s Office to address criminal issues that arise within the community.
I also believe we should do everything we can through early education and to discourage Marijuana’s recreational use.
Calaveras County Sheriff Rick DiBasilio On Marijuana & Calaveras Public Safety added by admin on
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Well stated Sir!
What about the 3 million plus revenue to this county that the marijuana growers contributed. ? And what violence/noise has occurred ? Marijuana cultivation is an upcoming industry which will be here whether you want it or not. Why not capitalize on and tax it?? I feel as though we are burying our heads in the sand by not supporting it; as it an agriculture industry. Not a bad thing at all. Public safety is not at risk. The BOS need to continue with the regulatory sanctions and gain as much revenue as possible.
Oh the odor
Pot is not the problem meth is. Let’s use the revenue from legal, regulated marijuana to get the real problem makers in our county.
Enclose the city grows and require air scrubbers on the exhaust fans. The smell is offensive to people in close areas. It worked with a stinky tallow works in the valley. No more foul smell to complain about.
How many serious fires were caused In Calaveras County last season due to negligent and some illegal marijuana grows? I remember reading about several. A huge amount in property damage, risk of injuries and deaths, not to mention the cost to taxpayers? I’m all for medicinal properties of regulated small grows, but the reality is a lot of illegal and dangerous grows out there financed by criminals (Not paying taxes) costing the taxpayers and citizens of California huge amounts of money in damages, criminal activity and damage to property, along with stealing and polluting vast amounts of water and environment with dangerous chemicals.
This is insane. First the sheriff’s office’s only job is to enforce the law…period. Nobody care’s about your bias opinion. When your office gets tens of millions of dollars from the industry. You will say you don’t care but money changes everything. Second, Cannabis doesn’t harm or hurt anyone. As a matter of fact, it helps. I have never seen a bar fight or any fight between two high people. All the idiots that are against it, don’t understand or have never researched. I hope someone in your family suffers from some ailment so you can personally see how much cannabis helps and the medical benefits it holds. It is safer and more beneficial than alcohol but you all don’t mind drinking and driving. Get bent!!
The money isn’t needed or wanted for that matter…
Cannibus never hurt anyone? you are kidding right… seems someone is a little naive..
Oh ok lets just keep Calaveras county a poor county and not generate revenue; that makes perfect sense? the money is needed in this county; have you traveled on any county roads lately??Try Jesus Maria for instance, The marijuana industry is only going to expand; why not regulate it and tax it; and encourage growth and increased property values.You ought to do research on line on what industry is up and coming in the United States; it is cannibus, And its going to be here whether you want it or not.
Due to a health issue near and dear to me, I have done a lot of research on cannabis, and from what I’ve gleaned, the benefits come mainly from high CBD oil which has a whole host of benefits, not the least of which, is anti-inflammatory and good for the brain. There is no high component and cbd oil can be extracted from high CBD industrial hemp. This is legal as there is only a trace amount of THC, below legal threshold and not enough to get anybody high, even in large doses. THC on the other hand, is actually inflammatory and large doses and continuous use of it can actually damage the brain and leads to many brain disorders. I personally know people whose young lives were ruined by it as they started with smoking it young and arrested their mental development. AND it actually was a gateway drug for them. I suspect like alcoholism, whether or not one becomes addicted varies from person to person. While I do agree that there can be a healing component, the high THC strains that have been developed over the last 50 or so years do more harm than good. Cannabis was used successfully for many health conditions (multiple schlerosis, Parkinson’s and a whole host of other things) successfully for centuries, yes, but the THC was much lower and the CBD much higher. I won’t argue that some people may benefit from the correct ratio of THC to CBD but the levels of THC need to be much lower. I think we all know and often encounter people who are lifelong users who have dulled their minds with frequent and continuous use. I believe the vast majority of use is recreational and the medical use, while valid for some, has been used as an excuse to validate recreational use. While I agree that small amounts for personal use shouldn’t be criminal (nor is alcohol) many of you naively and conveniently neglect the huge criminal element that law enforcement is only too well aware of, along with the high cost associated with dealing with it. How many people killed over large grows financed by the foreign drug cartels, how much environmental damage has been caused to both federal and personal property, water supplies stolen, depleted and in many cases polluted by pesticides used by the ruthless cartels? We need to find a better way to balance the medical benefits and heavily regulate the grows. They have caused huge problems for the state. I don’t pretend to know what the solution is, but I’m thinking that law enforcement folks, as they have to deal with it, probably have a better idea about how to handle this than the rest of us. Just sayin’. I’ve also noticed that the vast majority of users I know use the medical thing as an excuse for recreational use. Those who do use it for pain relief or anxiety, have never tried high CBD oil for their ailments–because it doesn’t get you high and they, uhh, want to get high. There are a whole lot of non-intoxicating vitamins and other supplements that deal with pain and inflammation, anxiety and other medical disorders–along with high CBD oil, which I am personally a fan of and have personally used to help with extreme hormonal imbalances and cortisol reduction along with a myriad of healthy supplements and good food choices. No high involved, whatsoever. Maybe if we started focusing on organically grown industrial hemp, it would help solve the issue as the medical benefits can be derived without the recreational component, thus, eliminating the criminal aspect. It might take people awhile to figure out that the farm they just raided or the plants they just stole, doesn’t get anybody high. While I don’t mean to diminish the seriousness of the issue, it does make me smile, just a wee bit, to imagine their shock and dismay! 🙂 Personally, I do believe that individual counties should be able to vote to decide whether or not they want to allow cannabis to be grown in their own back yards. Many counties (prior to passage of the recent law) have already passed ordinances banning residential outdoor grows because of the criminal element revolving around it and personal property damages experienced by neighboring homeowners. In a residential setting it is an eyesore and dimishes property values. It should, at the very least, be restricted to agriculturally zoned properties, with all the necessary licenses, taxes and regulations. The recently passed law, if you read it, did move towards that, but in my opinion needed to go a bit further to help solve the many issues surrounding the growth of cannabis.
Yes lets continue to support our black markets and criminal empires by making it illegal lmao idiots regulate and tax or black markets are what you will get, time to embrace it.