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Humboldt County, California, is known for two things: the Redwood Forest and marijuana. Just as Redwoods dwarf almost every other species of tree in both size and beauty, so does Humboldt's herb make virtually every other strain grown in North America seem like second-rate Mexican schwag weed. Most especially that BC bud that the Canadians are reportedly dumping over the border.
The county's population of approximately 125,000 folks could fit in a small city. Or a dozen densely populated blocks in LA or NYC. Arcata and Eureka are the two largest cities in the county and their combined population is circa 40,000 people. That leaves a lot of people in tiny towns. Even more up in the hills.
Thousands of people in Humboldt live in the hills. Literally. Very steep hills; many so steep that they are completely useless for any sort of construction or legitimate form of agriculture. For growing herb, though, such terrain is ideal. First, it's hard to access. Usually there is only one way in and one way out -- by four wheel drive. This makes it very easy for the residents to note unwelcome visitors as well as the occasional guest. If, for some reason, you decide to randomly explore back roads between August and October -- harvest season -- you take your life in your hands.
People shoot at cars they don't know. At people they don't know. Deep graves in the backwoods nobody's gonna find. And it does happen, unfortunately, because people are stupid. The greatest risk posed to growers is the theft of their crop by other growers or groups of armed local thugs, both in and out of uniform.
Second, cops don't like climbing hills. Policing the county and all its people is impossible given the population's dispersion over such massive square mileage quilted and cut up by Indian reservations, state and federal forest lands, and thousands of miles of almost-parallel ruts that are called roads. In the city of Arcata there are roughly four officers on duty for a population of 12,000 people. And it's the second largest city in the county. Aside from the burgs which can afford their own police department there are only the County Sheriffs and CHP (as in Ponch and Jon from "CHiPs," remember?). That doesn't mean squat if you run off the road near Ferndale or are assaulted outside of Garberville. Nope. The only person covering your buns, making sure you are safe, in Humboldt County is yourself.
So when the growers live 40 miles away from Highway 101 and Interstate 5, at least 20 miles from the nearest gas station or pay phone, it's easy to understand why they have guns. Note the plural. It is unlikely they'll even see a police officer for weeks, possibly months. The only exception to this is during harvest season when CAMP (the federally funded Campaign Against Marijuana Planting) is in progress. Small planes and helicopters literally buzz the entire county with low-level flyovers looking for the crop. When located choppers with armed Feds arrive, whack it down, seize it and anything else they can find, and then pull out quickly. Big busts, of course, are prime photo ops for the press. Of course serving federal prison time and having your property forfeited is no fun either. While CAMP has been scaled back over the years, I understand it to be a great source of angst and worry for many in the pot community. CAMP, however, only lasts a few months. On the other hand a grower may have to deal with a meth head neighbor on a daily basis fighting over water rights and who needs to repair the one lane road on their property. All this while keeping the authorities uninvolved because everyone is doing something illegal. Neighbors and raiders are the greatest human risks the growers have.
Third, who would want to climb those hills except the grower? Come on, it's back-breaking work hauling water up thirty to sixty degree hills, sometimes a mile each way, in 100 degree heat through the underbrush. Try one day at it. Then three months. Might make you buff, though.
Before 23,000 useless lazy potheads from the Midwest and East Coast decide to move out here for the easy life of growing weed, think again. This is the poorest county in the state of California. About 40% of the population here is qualified for government supported health care. And they need it. Especially the pot growers. An inordinate number of them have bad teeth and need thousands of dollars of dental work. Not to mention unhealthy diets and countless other health problems. The six months it takes to get an appointment at the Open Door Health Clinic empowers your cavity to evolve into a root canal oozing green pus. Then they'll see you, maybe, after a 3 hour wait because you are in extreme pain. For real. Running up and down hills four to six hours a day is a breeze, right? No problem with that aching tooth, jaw, and an acrid pus taste in your mouth, right? After all you're growing pot and what could be better than that?
The job market is about as sick as the health care situation. Took me seven weeks to find work and I have ten solid years of experience and excellent qualifications. Plus I can pass the piss test. Most folks can't and it is necessary for most livable-wage jobs. Truth is there is no job market. Aside from the folks desperate enough to work 20 hours a week at a minimum wage job, many people are unemployed. Several of my friends have been actively seeking work for over two years. No luck. Maybe they're lazy, you say. Or unqualified. Probably it's because they're Indians and no one seems to want to hire them.
The net result is perfectly obvious. The majority of residents have few, if any, visible or viable economic assets.
Humboldt County, California, is known for two things: the Redwood Forest and marijuana. Just as Redwoods dwarf almost every other species of tree in both size and beauty, so does Humboldt's herb make virtually every other strain grown in North America seem like second-rate Mexican schwag weed. Most especially that BC bud that the Canadians are reportedly dumping over the border.
The county's population of approximately 125,000 folks could fit in a small city. Or a dozen densely populated blocks in LA or NYC. Arcata and Eureka are the two largest cities in the county and their combined population is circa 40,000 people. That leaves a lot of people in tiny towns. Even more up in the hills.
Thousands of people in Humboldt live in the hills. Literally. Very steep hills; many so steep that they are completely useless for any sort of construction or legitimate form of agriculture. For growing herb, though, such terrain is ideal. First, it's hard to access. Usually there is only one way in and one way out -- by four wheel drive. This makes it very easy for the residents to note unwelcome visitors as well as the occasional guest. If, for some reason, you decide to randomly explore back roads between August and October -- harvest season -- you take your life in your hands.
People shoot at cars they don't know. At people they don't know. Deep graves in the backwoods nobody's gonna find. And it does happen, unfortunately, because people are stupid. The greatest risk posed to growers is the theft of their crop by other growers or groups of armed local thugs, both in and out of uniform.
Second, cops don't like climbing hills. Policing the county and all its people is impossible given the population's dispersion over such massive square mileage quilted and cut up by Indian reservations, state and federal forest lands, and thousands of miles of almost-parallel ruts that are called roads. In the city of Arcata there are roughly four officers on duty for a population of 12,000 people. And it's the second largest city in the county. Aside from the burgs which can afford their own police department there are only the County Sheriffs and CHP (as in Ponch and Jon from "CHiPs," remember?). That doesn't mean squat if you run off the road near Ferndale or are assaulted outside of Garberville. Nope. The only person covering your buns, making sure you are safe, in Humboldt County is yourself.
So when the growers live 40 miles away from Highway 101 and Interstate 5, at least 20 miles from the nearest gas station or pay phone, it's easy to understand why they have guns. Note the plural. It is unlikely they'll even see a police officer for weeks, possibly months. The only exception to this is during harvest season when CAMP (the federally funded Campaign Against Marijuana Planting) is in progress. Small planes and helicopters literally buzz the entire county with low-level flyovers looking for the crop. When located choppers with armed Feds arrive, whack it down, seize it and anything else they can find, and then pull out quickly. Big busts, of course, are prime photo ops for the press. Of course serving federal prison time and having your property forfeited is no fun either. While CAMP has been scaled back over the years, I understand it to be a great source of angst and worry for many in the pot community. CAMP, however, only lasts a few months. On the other hand a grower may have to deal with a meth head neighbor on a daily basis fighting over water rights and who needs to repair the one lane road on their property. All this while keeping the authorities uninvolved because everyone is doing something illegal. Neighbors and raiders are the greatest human risks the growers have.
Third, who would want to climb those hills except the grower? Come on, it's back-breaking work hauling water up thirty to sixty degree hills, sometimes a mile each way, in 100 degree heat through the underbrush. Try one day at it. Then three months. Might make you buff, though.
Before 23,000 useless lazy potheads from the Midwest and East Coast decide to move out here for the easy life of growing weed, think again. This is the poorest county in the state of California. About 40% of the population here is qualified for government supported health care. And they need it. Especially the pot growers. An inordinate number of them have bad teeth and need thousands of dollars of dental work. Not to mention unhealthy diets and countless other health problems. The six months it takes to get an appointment at the Open Door Health Clinic empowers your cavity to evolve into a root canal oozing green pus. Then they'll see you, maybe, after a 3 hour wait because you are in extreme pain. For real. Running up and down hills four to six hours a day is a breeze, right? No problem with that aching tooth, jaw, and an acrid pus taste in your mouth, right? After all you're growing pot and what could be better than that?
The job market is about as sick as the health care situation. Took me seven weeks to find work and I have ten solid years of experience and excellent qualifications. Plus I can pass the piss test. Most folks can't and it is necessary for most livable-wage jobs. Truth is there is no job market. Aside from the folks desperate enough to work 20 hours a week at a minimum wage job, many people are unemployed. Several of my friends have been actively seeking work for over two years. No luck. Maybe they're lazy, you say. Or unqualified. Probably it's because they're Indians and no one seems to want to hire them.
The net result is perfectly obvious. The majority of residents have few, if any, visible or viable economic assets.