Amador County – Amador County Supervisors discussed work behind a county medical marijuana growing ordinance that it passed on Tuesday, which will take effect in 30 days, and will limit growing operations to 24 plants per parcel.

Supervisor Brian Oneto said he understood medical marijuana use, which was used by a former officer he knew, due to illness to help his appetite.

Oneto said Amador County had a large grow last year in Carbondale, then “we had a dead person” and now have “five people on trial.” He said Supervisors were accused of taking away people’s rights, but they have acted to protect citizens from growing operations that are too large and “bring a lot of nasty people with lots of guns ready to kill somebody.”

Supervisor Chairman Louis Boitano said he learned that an elderly couple he knew had problems with a marijuana plantation adjoining their property. One day he was checking his fence and “somebody came out of the brush with a gun.” He was “scared to death” and the couple did not tell anyone, not even Boitano, and they did not know he was talking about it Tuesday.

Their neighbor told Oneto, and called the sheriff’s department, which checked their medical papers and pulled some plants. Then on harvest day, BMWs and Caddilac Escalades and other high-dollar cars came to the neighboring property. Boitano said: “I don’t apologize for nothing. What about their rights, the elderly couple?”

Supervisor Ted Novelli said it was not correct to say they did not do their homework. He personally talked to one Planning Commissioner on the phone and two others by e-mail about the issue. He also talked with law enforcement.

Novelli said the board is not infringing on their rights and personal liberty because “we’re telling you to come up here and speak.” He said the board has taken public input, messages, and phone calls in the hearing process.

Supervisor John Plasse said his previous meeting comments were taken out of context and he did not disrespect anyone, and would make a tape of the meeting available to anyone who wanted it by email. He said he was acting to protect the people against large scale grows, and the draft ordinance’s 72 plants number “came out of thin air from the Planning Commission, as people here can attest.”

The board approved the second reading of the ordinance on a 4-0 vote with Supervisor Richard Forster absent.

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