Last night on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Michael Montgomery reported on the anticipated end of Mendocino County’s groundbreaking medical marijuana ordinance. (Listen to the report below.)

Prior to last year’s federal crackdown, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors was looking to base its own ordinance on Mendocino’s, which had been deemed a success by growers, dispensary owners, local government leaders and law enforcement alike.

But then feds like Melinda Haag, the U.S. Attorney for Northern California, decided they knew better. Haag complained that, “The law [legalizing medical marijuana] has been hijacked by profiteers who are motivated not by compassion but by money.”

So they busted operations this one, which was being overseen by the county sheriff’s office, and sent marijuana production back underground, where compassion rules and money holds no sway. 

Ryan Burns worked for the Journal from 2008 to 2013, covering a diverse mix of North Coast subjects,...

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