I have heard that in politics and civil societies, compromise equals success.

Cannabis cultivation in Lake County has become a very heated and polarizing subject. There are people on both extremes that are unwilling to compromise at all. These are the people that will never change their minds. Fortunately the majority of citizens and voters do agree that we all need to meet in the middle and respect each other's rights and needs.

Currently Measure N is the land of the law when it narrowly passed by approximately 3 percent of the votes in June. Three out of five supervisor districts (1, 2 and 3), voted against Measure N. However you look at the outcome, it is obvious that the voting members of the county are divided on the merits on N.

People in favor of N say that it is a compromise. N says that a good majority of people (the ones that live on less than one acre) are not allowed to grow any cannabis outdoor at all. That is Zero plants allowed, a zero tolerance prohibition mentality.

Under Measure N, the sheriff's department has come onto many people's property and eradicated their small backyard gardens without giving any notice or obtaining a search warrant. It has raised the question about citizens' civil rights being violated due to this new law.

The rest of the people (people that live on one acre or more and outside community growth boundaries) are allowed to only grow 6 plants outdoor for themselves or members of a collective. You could own 1,000 acres and not have neighbors as far as the eye can see, and your still only allowed to grow six plants. That does not seem like a compromise to me.

In this November election, the people will vote on Measure O, which is also known as the Medical Marijuana Control Act (MMCA). If Measure O passes, it will supersede N and will become the new law of the land.

Measure O allows people who live on less than an acre to grow 4 plants for themselves under strict guidelines. If they are causing any nuisance or public safety hazard, those issues will be promptly addressed by the newly created and self funded Medical Marijuana Enforcement Department. If the nuisance is not eliminated within the five-day notice period, then the garden will be summarily abated and problem solved.

Allowing patients to grow four plants for themselves, as long as they are not creating a nuisance for their neighbors, seems like a compromise to me. Zero tolerance seems extreme. There are many citizens within our county that are on limited or fixed incomes. They find many benefits from cannabis and can not afford to buy it from dispensaries or grow it indoors. Growing outdoors is their only viable option.

If you believe in the value and necessity of true compromise in our society, and a person's right to have a small garden in their backyard, then vote Yes on Measure O this November election.

Daniel McLean of Lower Lake, Calif., is one of the proponents who put forward Measure O, www.medicalmarijuanacontrolact.com .