I am a member of the issues committee of the Democratic Central Committee here in Lake County.

The committee was asked to look at all the measures on the coming ballot.

We read the measures, read the arguments, pro and con, listened to speakers pro and con, and debated the points. The process took two meetings and several hours.

Our vote was not capricious; we did our due diligence as Democrats and democrats. There were two attorneys on our committee.

My own experience was that I read Measure O. Then, I read the arguments against Measure O. And then, I read “O” a second time.

I discovered a strange phenomenon: Every issue raised by the opponents of “O” is dealt with comprehensively within “O.” What this means is the opponents of “O” most likely have not read the measure.

I won’t dwell on all the arguments, but I want to deal with one issue that was a concern of mine as well. I wanted protection for a resident that might find their neighbor’s cultivation of marijuana to be a nuisance.

First, I want to discuss a notion that underlies the law: Freedom is not an absolute. Put most succinctly by the legendary Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins."

Measure O expresses that cultivation of marijuana is not an absolute: The grower may not create a nuisance such as an odor that would interfere with a neighboring resident’s enjoyment of his property.

To insure this protection, the measure uses what is called in law “mandatory language,” which include the words “must and shall.” Mandatory language means that enforcement has to happen.

And, the measure creates the means to ensure the enforcement. Better yet, the measure is self-funding, so that a fee on the plants will cover the expense of administering the measure.

Measure O also calls for the protection of the environment, regulating pesticides, fertilizer, run-offs and so on.

Marijuana is, and will be, grown in Lake County for medicinal purposes. This is established in state law. The question here and now is the creation of a measure that creates reasonable regulations for those that grow, and protection for those that don’t. In this regard, Measure O is a masterpiece.

Nelson Strasser lives in Lakeport, Calif.