Los Angeles

Medical marijuana harvest draws violence in the Central Valley

Claire Goldberg

In recent years the Central Valley has seen the spread of a new cash crop, marijuana. While medical marijuana cards protect growers from law enforcement, there have been a huge number of robberies in the area. This September, there have been at least five confrontations with growers, two of which were deadly. In Fresno, a man is on trial for the murder after finding several men pulling up plants in his yard. Additionally, two men were arrested on suspicion of robbery and kidnapping in a Lindsay shooting. On September 14, Fresno County’s Board of Supervisors passed an emergency ban on outdoor medical marijuana cultivation. Furthermore, Proposition 19, which will appear on the November ballot, would allow for the legalization, regulation and taxation of non-medical marijuana in California. Poll results show that the majority of the Bay Area and Southern California voters support Prop. 19, though there is mixed sentiment in the conservative Central Valley. Although a majority in the Central Valley do not support Prop. 19, some residents see legalization as the only solution to the recent violence.

• Medical marijuana cards: provides access to medicinal marijuana with a doctor’s prescription.

Additional readings:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot-crop-20101003,0,3421492.story?page=2&track=rss

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marijuana-20101002,0,7445690.story

http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-1002-marijuana-growing-box-20101002,0,5800505.story

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot-malibu-20101001,0,5276109.story