Stories of People Who Are Just Trying to Help–This American Life Does Mendocino Sheriff Tom Allman

The extremely popular radio show, This American Life, takes on the story of Mendocino Co. Sheriff Tom Allman’s attempt to bring order to marijuana growing.  Here’s their description.

Under California law, it’s legal to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes if you have a doctor’s recommendation. A few years ago, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman was trying to find a way to deal with the proliferation of marijuana in his county. Allman wanted to spend less time dealing with growers who were growing small, legal amounts, so he could focus on other problems — including criminals who run massive marijuana farms in the Mendocino National Forest. So he came up with a plan to allow the small farmers to grow, if they registered with his office. Growers would pay for little zip-ties they could put around the base of their marijuana plants, and the cops would know to leave them alone. It saved time and generated revenue. Reporter Mary Cuddehe tells the story of how the county and the nation responded to the sheriff’s plan. (18 minutes)

Listen to the story here. It won’t be available til 6 P.M. tonight Sunday.  The promo is up though.