Calif. towns rethink medical marijuana

UKIAH, Calif., June 9 (UPI) -- California's medical marijuana law, approved by voters in 1996, has provided cover for major pot growers, local officials say.

Residents and law enforcement officials have been reconsidering local regulations on growing and possessing pot as a result of problems associated with big-money pot growing operations, The New York Times reported Monday.

Since California voters authorized medical use of marijuana, 11 other states have adopted similar policies. Federal law, however, still bans the sale of marijuana.

Mike Sweeney, 60 -- a supporter of medical marijuana -- also supported a June 3 local ballot measure calling for new limits on pot in Mendocino County, which may be the most tolerant place in the state regarding marijuana.

"It's a clear shield for commercial operations," said Sweeney of current law. "And we don't want those here."

Ballots have not been counted so it isn't clear whether the measure passed, the newspaper said.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown last week said he would appeal a court ruling that struck down the state's guidelines on possession of medical marijuana. The Los Angeles Court of Appeal last month overturned a 2003 law that specified how much medical marijuana patients could possess.