Watch CBS News

Medical Marijuana Overgrows Tough To Enforce In Nevada County

NEVADA COUNTY (CBS13) — Neighbors fed up with the smell from a Nevada County medical-marijuana grow are being told there aren't enough deputies to respond to their complaints.

Several medical-marijuana cardholders got together and started growing on one piece of property, producing what neighbors say is a strong odor from the site.

A Nevada County ordinance was put into place to stop that, as neighbors noticed similar grows were for more than just medical uses.

But some neighbors are saying not much has changed since the ordinance was put into place.

Nevada County Lt. Steve Tripp says a staffing shortage is making it difficult for the department to enforce.

"We just don't have the resources right now to respond to every call for service as they come in," he said.

The Nevada County Sheriff's Department says it has received more than 300 calls for marijuana-related complaints this year. They've only been able to get to 100 of them.

Despite only having two full-time deputies, the department believes they are seeing more growers in compliance with the law.

"We are making steps in the right direction," Tripp said. "We are making progress."

With so much rural space the sheriff says it's going to be hard to track down every single person who is illegally growing on their property. They hope to train more deputies to enforce the ordinance to cut down on excessive grows.

 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.