Woodland, CA – August 15, 2017 – Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig and Sheriff Ed Prieto announced today that the two offices will work closely to enforce cannabis cultivation laws in Yolo County. The offices of the District Attorney and the Sheriff are committed to protecting licensed medicinal cannabis growers in Yolo County. In order to accomplish that goal, they will be pursuing enforcement action against illegal and unlicensed growers.
Unregulated cannabis cultivation can result in threats to public health and safety including environmental degradation, public nuisances, and consumer protection concerns. The joint effort by the Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office will protect the entire community including lawful cultivators, neighbors and consumers. Yolo County Sheriff Deputies will be responding to calls for illegal grows in the field and the District Attorney will be rigorously prosecuting all appropriate cases.
District Attorney, Jeff Reisig stated, “Our offices will work together to pursue shared community goals that include ensuring public safety, quickly responding to dangers, and enhancing policies and procedures designed to eliminate illegal grows in the county.”
In addition to adult use allowed under Proposition 64, under Yolo County’s current ordinance, cultivation of cannabis in the county is permissible under two limited exemptions outlined in County Code section 5-20 et seq. The first exemption is known as the patient exemption for personal medical use. Cultivation of cannabis for personal medical use is permissible, but must follow certain state and local regulations. The second exemption is for a commercial medicinal operation, which requires the cultivator and site to be licensed by Yolo County.
Title 5 Chapter 20 of the County Code involving cannabis cultivation can be accessed through the Yolo County website at http://www.yolocounty.org/general-government/board-of-supervisors/county-code. Additional information on state regulation of medical cannabis businesses can be found at http://www.bmcr.ca.gov/.
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