Editor:

Apparently there aren't enough criminals in the City of Anderson, Redding and Shasta County. Why else are police more interested in creating criminals out of medical marijuana users rather than focusing on the crime problems that already exist?

City and county government officials would rather create ordinances that create criminals out of sick, qualified medical patients who otherwise are hard-working, tax-paying and voting citizens.

With a properly designed ordinance, only criminals will violate the ordinance. The way the local governments are limiting access to and cultivation of cannabis, it will, in effect, create criminals of sick people who are simply trying to produce enough medical marijuana for their own needs.

Instead, these restrictions could force these same sick people to buy their medicine in the same dark alleys or shady street corners that benefit the Mexican cartels and organized crime.

What "expert" input did these officials consult when considering the effects their ordinances will create? One can only determine that the Governments consider themselves "experts" in growing medicinal grade cannabis. Apparently they have grown enough medicinal cannabis to determine that a 10-foot by 12-foot area is enough room to grow enough medicinal cannabis to last a year.

Apparently, every plant they ever grew was a female plant and finished up as medicinal grade. No seeds. No male plants. No deer, gophers, rabbits or other pests damaging their plants.

I guess all of my years of growing plants (not just cannabis) make me ignorant and all their years of growing have made them "experts."

Is medical marijuana really this big of a problem?

If it is, then where are the local facts?

All I see in their reports are statements that "other communities have reported" issues, but these reports are never available. Are all of the other communities really just Los Angeles?

What's more accurate is that the moral minority is offended by the compassionate use law. And it is a law. Has been since 1996.

Local governing bodies are supposed to enforce the laws equally for everybody, including qualified medical cannabis patients. Would the government officials be acting the same way if we were growing our own insulin, estrogen or other pharmaceutical?

Rodney Jones,

Anderson