Riverside County proposed ordinance aimed at marijuana growers

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Driving through Riverside County, you see a lot of rural neighborhoods. But in areas like Good Hope and Mead Valley, there's much more than trees and shrubs.

Resident Douglas Lanphere says look more closely, and you'll see massive marijuana farms.

"We've been asking the Board of Supervisors for regulation for over 10 years," Lanphere said.

The big concern for him, even as an advocate for medical marijuana, is who's in charge of these fields: small medicinal users or perhaps the powerful and dangerous, drug cartels.

"We don't know where the medication is going. Without regulations, we don't know who the players are, we don't know who's participating in this field right now," Lanphere said.

And because of the concern, it's an issue that's now front and center with the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, with possibly more than 300 marijuana fields in the county.

"Many of them have some of the neighbors scared to death, with the commercial aspect of it and who is running those operations," Riverside County First District Kevin Jeffries said.

Jeffries is proposing an ordinance that would mean jail time and $1,000 fine for anyone growing 12 or more plants, but some say that's going too far.

William Gunn says he grows marijuana for his wife, who has arthritis and fibromyalgia.

"I can take care of my wife, but you're limiting me and fining me for being able to do that," Gunn said.

The complicated issue is expected to be back in front of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors for a public hearing in September. A final vote is expected sometime later.