The District Attorney’s Marijuana Restitution Program

The program does not provide additional funds for law enforcement but instead reimburses law enforcement for costs associated with apprehension of offenders or abatement of illegal grows. However, County government as a whole benefits from an additional source of revenue. The Chief Executive Officer agrees with this finding. The restitution program provides a funding mechanism to reimburse law enforcement for costs associated with apprehension of offenders and/or abatement of illegal marijuana grows. The cost recovery from the restitution program benefits County Public Safety. While the Chief Executive Officer was not requested to respond to the statement below in the report, it is inaccurate, so it is important to clarify. “During County budget development, the Sheriff’s budget is decreased by some or the entire amount of the restitution funds estimated for the next year.” Restitution funding is reflected as a revenue stream in the Sheriff’s Budget Unit 2310 (Account 826258). This number is established based on discussions with the Sheriff’s Office on projections for anticipated restitution receipts over the next year. The Sheriff’s budget is not decreased based on this budgeted amount. The practice has been to consider restitution funding as another revenue source to support the Sheriff’s operations, and is used to offset expenses that are considered eligible for use of the money by the Sheriff.