By JOHN HOWARD

Associated Press Writer

UKIAH, Calif. (AP) - The rule of law seems to have a weak hold in this county

of spectacular forests, canyons, rocky coastal cliffs and some of the finest

marijuana in the world.

In Mendocino County, pot is the biggest cash crop and the new district attorney

is an ex-con.

``People tell me one of two things,'' said District Attorney-elect Norman

Vroman. ``It's either, `I wish I had the guts to do what you did against the IRS,'

or it's `How in world do you believe you can be the top prosecutor if you've

served time in federal prison?'''

Vroman, a lawyer, served nine months behind bars during the early 1990s for failing to pay several thousand

dollars in income taxes.

Last week, Vroman, running on a platform that included decriminalization of marijuana, defeated a

three-term incumbent who was president-elect of the California District Attorney Association.

This rugged county of 87,000 people 100 miles north of San Francisco also elected a new sheriff, Tony Craver,

who also backs decriminalization.

In Vroman's case, voters were displeased with the incumbent's handling of a big murder case in which a

sheriff's deputy searching for a suspect was shot to death. The defendant was acquitted, and Vroman was

quoted as saying he won't retry the case.

But the folksy and engaging Vroman also was seen admiringly as a rebel. And Craver has a blunt, genial

manner that went over well with people and was seen as having deeper roots in the county than the previous

sheriff, who spent a decade in Los Angeles County.

The two men's stance on marijuana figured in both campaigns in this county of mountain

folk, ex-hippies, yuppies and refugees from big cities.

``It was a hot issue. Up until now, there has been a `don't ask, don't tell' policy. They

have not harassed us, but on the other hand, they have not cooperated with us,'' said

Marvin Lehrman, who runs a 200-member medical marijuana club. ``Vroman's slogan

was `It's time for a change,' and that's what we want.''

A lanky, mustachioed, by-the-book sheriff's officer, the 61-year-old Craver has busted

drug dealers and growers for years in an area where the famously potent marijuana retails

for $5,000 a pound.

But he also believes marijuana use should be decriminalized. Decriminalization could

reduce marijuana use from a misdemeanor under state law, which can bring a jail term, to

the equivalent of a traffic offense, which normally carries only a fine.

Commercial growers and traffickers should be prosecuted, but ``if you light up a joint in your home, who are

you hurting?'' Craver said.

However, both he and Vroman said their personal views on marijuana use will not affect their official duties.

``It's illegal. If he arrests them, I'll prosecute them,'' Vroman said.

Mendocino County has produced more marijuana since 1995 than any of California's 57 other counties.

Last year, state and local agents in helicopters and ground squads raided 340 pot plantations in Mendocino

County and seized $204 million worth of weed. Authorities believe that for every plant they find, there are

perhaps 10 more out there.

The county's isolated hollows are ideal for secret pot gardens that yield marijuana highly prized by aficionados.

``It's considered about the best in the world, if not the best. It's about 10 to 25 times more potent than the

marijuana of the 1960s,'' said state Justice Department spokesman Mike Van Winkle.

Vroman, who said he moved to Mendocino County in 1975 to escape the pressures of Southern California, has

worked as a prosecutor, a fill-in judge, a defense attorney and a public defender. In fact, the last three district

attorneys in Mendocino County had also been public defenders.

``I don't know whether it's because people are suspicious of authority, but I think a lot of it has to do with

people not wanting the D.A. to be tough on lightweight crimes. They don't like wasting money,'' said retiree

George McClure of Ukiah.

Vroman has piled up $1.3 million in tax liens and filed for bankruptcy twice, and in 1991 was sent to prison.

``They cited the Internal Revenue Service Code, but there is no law that says you have to file a return,'' he

said. ``They use fear. That's how the IRS works.''