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By Damian Mann Mail Tribune September 29. 2014 6:50PM Pot garden odors raise a stink with neighbors Rafael Martinez oversees the growing operation for 15 medical marijuana cardholders behind a blacked-out fence in Sams Valley. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Kora Kari scratches her arms until they are bright red whenever the sharp odor of flowering marijuana wafts into her yard from her next-door neighbor’s garden. “I can’t get much closer to it,” the 59-year-old Sams Valley resident said. “I’ll break out in hives.” Kari said she desperately wants to get rid of the medical pot patch because of her allergic reaction to it, which includes headaches and watery eyes. She has appealed to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, local legislators and state officials for help. “I understand what her problem is, because that stuff stinks,” said Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford. “But there is nothing I can do. You’d need to change the law.” Esquivel said he has forwarded Kari’s concerns to Sen. Doug Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, who may introduce legislation that could make it clearer where marijuana gardens could be located, particularly in relation to schools.  “Certainly we’ve heard a lot of concern from neighbors about this throughout the state, and that is only going to get worse,” Whitsett said. “If it becomes legal, you’ll have a lot of people smoking in front of their kids.” If Ballot Measure 91 passes in November, even more gardens could sprout in neighborhoods. The measure would make it legal for people 21 or older to have marijuana for recreational use, and local, OLCC-licensed growers will supply some of that demand. Thomas Burns, director of Pharmacy Programs for the Oregon Health Authority, wrote in a Sept. 22 email to Kari, “Your concerns about where marijuana is grown is well understood. I wish there was something that we could do as your message is not unique.” Burns said nothing in Oregon law gives his agency the ability to license, regulate or control marijuana grow sites. “We can only regulate facilities that dispense medical marijuana to patients,” he wrote. Kari sent another email to the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program. Aaron Cossel, program analyst for OMMP, wrote back in a Sept. 22 email that there wasn’t sufficient probable cause to search the property. “Under current law, even if law enforcement is aware that an address is a registered marijuana grow site, they do not have the legal authority to inspect said grow site without permission from the landowner or a court order,” Cossell wrote. Kari said the medical marijuana operation was set up in June, and she thinks it’s not appropriate to grow medical marijuana in a residential neighborhood where houses are near each other. She said most of the lots near her property on Old Sams Valley Highway are about two acres. “It’s popping up in our area haphazardly,” Kari said. “Right or wrong, it’s going to be here, but it’s a drug and it should be treated like a drug.” Some neighbors don’t care about the pot being grown, while others are against the idea, Kari said. She showed an aerial map that indicated three different pot growing sites within a one-mile area, including a garden that is less than 1,000 feet from the Sams Valley Elementary School. Her biggest concern is her next-door neighbor, who has about 60 plants that will soon be harvested, and the dark green leaves and dense buds give off a strong smell that some have likened to a skunk. The plants range in size from 3 to 8 feet and are growing a few hundred feet from Kari’s house. “I do respect her concerns,” said Rafael Martinez, the 43-year-old neighbor who oversees the growing operation for what he says are 15 medical marijuana cardholders. “I abide by the laws,” he said. “This stuff is all medicine. It goes to patients with AIDS, cancer or brain tumors.” He said he’s contacted the sheriff’s department to let deputies know what’s going on at the property he rents. Martinez said he tries to be considerate of his neighbors. Because wells don’t produce a lot of water in the area, he hauls in up to 1,500 gallons a day during the height of summer for his thirsty plants. By fall, he uses about 500 gallons. Martinez said he would be willing to meet with Kari to see whether there are some ways to address her concerns, but Kari said she doesn’t want to get near the property because the smell is overpowering. “I know that everybody in the world is allergic to something,” Martinez said. “Everybody who smokes pot gets red eyes or dry mouth.” Martinez has erected a 6-foot fence around the pot patch and has installed black cloth on the fence so the plants aren’t readily visible from the street. Even so, many of the buds glistening with resin have grown taller than the fence. The smell is particularly potent at this time of the year, Martinez said. “In the morning time, it’s worse,” he said. Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Thomson said his department receives numerous complaints about pot grow sites. Thomson said there are no restrictions on where most of the gardens can be located. A complaint has been received about this particular site near Kari’s house, but Thomson said he hasn’t gone out yet to count plants and verify the number of cardholders. Each cardholder can have six mature plants. “A lot of people don’t like the smell of it,” he said. “Unfortunately, our hands are pretty much tied.” Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @reporterdm . http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20140929/NEWS/140929643 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->