Thank You, Dr. Ken Miller.

"A little pot never hurt anybody, except the landlords house." comments "Smarty Marty" on the Times Standard's article Marijuana grow to blame for house going up in smoke

"...there were five Proposition 215 recommendations tacked to the wall. And at least one of them was signed by none other than Ken Miller. He likes to hold others accountable, but there will be no one to hold him accountable for the damage here.
Photo Source: Humboldt Review - Click on photo to enlarge
For a more complete story, check out Kevin Hoover's Humboldt Review

...The tenant, Cody Nehring, said that the grow was a “cooperative” for five medical marijuana patients. Indeed, five Prop 215 certifications were posted on the living room wall, one with Nehring’s name on it. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reportedly will not charge the occupants with anything, as they were duly covered by Prop 215.

Nehring insists that the marijuana was for medical use. He had no explanation for the case of butane in the corner of the dining room. Butane is commonly used to extract THC-laden resin from marijuana, creating hash oil. “I don’t know about that,” Nehring said. Arcata Fire Chief John McFarland said the cases of butane could have easily killed firefighters, tenants and even neighbors, had the fire reached it. There was another box containing hundreds of of spent nitrous oxide cylinders nearby.

Though one room contained children’s toys along with grow equipment, Nehring said the house was not occupied – that it was entirely dedicated to growing. Dr. Ken Miller, who issued Nehring’s 215 Certification, said he regretted the fire. He wouldn’t say what fee he charges for the certifications, only that it was under $150...

The other pot doc whose 215 prescription is shown in the photo above is Hany Assad, owner of Norcal Healthcare Systems Inc. - the one Helen Sanderson wrote about in this story Pot doc's checkered past catches up - A SPECIAL INVESTIGATION. There's plenty of blame to go around here.

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NOTE: GROW HOUSES are on the ARCATA CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
D. Consider Policy Issues and Alternative Land Use Regulatory Strategies for “Grow Houses” and Medical Marijuana Clinics.

Council, Planning Commission and staff have regularly heard complaints about “marijuana grow houses” converting single family residences to indoor nurseries in residential neighborhoods, and their impacts to adjoining properties, the neighborhood and the buildings themselves. In addition, the City of Arcata has allowed Medical Cannabis Dispensaries in the Commercial and Central Business District Zones and has recently seen an increase in the number and interest in siting more of these facilities, and consideration should be given to regulating or limiting the number of these facilities. The intent of this discussion is for the Council to provide staff with direction for subsequent work in Ordinances. Actual standards and/or Ordinances would be brought back at a later date.

RECOMMENDATION: 1) Determine the need to regulate Medical Marijuana Clinics and “Marijuana Grow Houses” through the Land Use and Development Guide [LUDG] and the upcoming Land Use Code; 2) Provide direction to staff by: (a) Confirming that personal medical marijuana “grows” in residential zones would only be allowed as an “accessory use”, subject to specified standards, as part of “compassionate use”; (b) Establish direction for the most restrictive standards for “personal marijuana grows” as accessory to residential use; (c) Confirming the Commercial and Central Business District Zones as the appropriate land use designations for Medical Marijuana Clinics; (d) Capping the number of Medical Marijuana Clinics at 4; and (e) Providing any necessary siting criteria for “replacement” Medical Marijuana Clinics; and 3) Direct that specific standards be developed and include in the Planning Commission recommendations and the Council review of the DRAFT Land Use Code.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 736 F Street, Arcata - Wednesday, October 3, 2007 6:00 P. M.

As Kevin reports: In Arcata, neighbors and police have become increasingly concerned about the proliferation of grow houses. Apart from the danger of fire, there have also been home invasion robberies with violence. In subdivisions where the houses look alike (especially at night) neighbors are concerned about robbers getting houses mixed up. Oh, and that smell.

But an entirely new and unanticipated phenomenon has cropped up, so to speak: neighborhoods going silent. In some areas of town, homes which used to house students have now been converted to indoor gardens. Humboldt State University has become concerned about already-limited student housing drying up. Further, controversial new subdivisions have been proposed, some on agricultural land, and an unresolved question is how many of the new houses would wind up as grows.

TS Fire chief frustrated with 215 grows in rental homes
TS Council to take next step toward regulating grow houses 10/16/07
ARCATA -- The City Council is expected to take the next step Wednesday toward reining in the city's marijuana grow houses under some kind of oversight and regulation.
The council took the first steps at its Oct. 3 meeting, when it decided to form a task force to make recommendations on how to use land use standards to control the locations, sizes and operations of the city's grow houses.