High Times Talks About the Tension With Trimmigrants in Humboldt

CaptureThe recent tensions between locals and trimmigrants/homeless captured the attention of High Times Magazine. An article just published today on their blog interviewed both a founder of the Take Back Our Town group (TBOT) and a homeless advocate.

Sandwiched in between an article entitled Five Best Videos to Watch When Baked and another on the failure of Ohio’s recent legalization efforts, this piece on the annual influx of trimmigrants to Humboldt County offers a surprisingly nuanced view of the situation (and we’re not just saying this because one of our recent articles sparked their interest in the subject.)

Homeless advocate Debra Carey is quoted as saying, ““The whole county is known for growing marijuana and we have a whole industry here. People come to work in Humboldt County and are met with a really tough situation. There’s no place to legally sleep… food is scarce, and we’ve lost common ground, so people are camping on private property or they are downtown and that creates a problem for the community every year.”

While Tara Sutherland from TBOT points out, ” “We know we can’t clean up the streets and make everyone leave, we don’t want everyone to leave…we want everyone to be happy together, but it’s not going to work unless everyone actually works together and respects our town.”

Read High Times story here.

Facebooktwitterpinterestmail

Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules

Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

27 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
G-ma
Guest
G-ma
8 years ago

They are trouble!!post your needing of a job on a community board.stop begging in front of businesses,that are trying to make a living.you go girls.this is what eureka needs

Life is Good
Guest
Life is Good
8 years ago

Trimmigrants were never an issue in years past. It seems it became a problem when the out of state and out of country growers started showing up using Humboldt and Mendo counties to make quick cash and not really living in or contributing to the community on a year round basis. Just go to Ray’s around five pm where English seems to be a second language.

25+yearOG
Guest
25+yearOG
8 years ago
Reply to  Life is Good

It’s true,they are “grow”-immigrants. They just come to “the emerald triangle ” to use and abuse our land to get rich fast. They are not the local mom and pop growers that have always kept the jobs(trimmers)and money in the local community. The freakin grow-immigrants could give a shit about our once hidden gem ,the lost coast,non overpopulated country. The f*cking trim-immigrants and the growers that hire them can go home! They are spoiling what we once had and cherished

nope
Guest
nope
8 years ago
Reply to  25+yearOG

Yes there is a lot of people that move here to grow weed BUT this generation of born and raised so hum kids is honestly a huge part of the problem. I know more locally raised kids then transplants that have multiple properties and grow 1000s of lbs. They hire whoever to grow for them and don’t even pick out their own trimmers. They leave their very over it worker to pick out the trimmers and since their growing sooooo much and not small mom and pop amounts they are willing to hire whoever. I’ve lived here 8 years and I only know two transplants that has multiple properties yet I know many greedy born and raised giant growers with multiple vehicles and properties. Parents need to start raising their kids to appreciate money and stop raising spoiled money hungry big growers.

knowyofacts
Guest
knowyofacts
8 years ago
Reply to  nope

This is so true. Pot Princesses and pot princes. Spoiled and entitled children of the counter culture, never taught respect of fellow human beings. Raised to have everything they ever wanted with no appreciation of where it came from or what it means to really work hard. They need to realize they’re the creators of the situation their in. The atmosphere in so hum is that of a counter culture that never disciplined their generations and now its out of control.

LocalGal
Guest
LocalGal
8 years ago
Reply to  nope

Nope: Whether or not your statement is true, it’s not relevant to the discussion. Are these second generation growers hanging out aimlessly in town, blocking the sidewalks, littering, smoking, & defecating all over our town? Actually, they are paying taxes on those “multiple properties & vehicles”, revenue which keeps our roads maintained, etc. Your gross generalizations reek of jealousy. Ultimately, we are discussing the need for people to simply be respectful, contributing members of our community.

Eastside
Guest
Eastside
8 years ago
Reply to  25+yearOG

Gromigrants.

Dave Kirby
Guest
Dave Kirby
8 years ago

As I have worked in retail here in G’ville for some 30+ years it appears to me that there are a number of different sub groups among the people on the street here in town. I find that many of the international “trimigrants” are the least offensive of the bunch. They are for the most part polite and do spend money at our local businesses. The most obnoxious are our own meth heads. In between there are several other species. There are Jerry Garcia’s kids who think there is something romantic about being broke and transient…the “Trucking” crowd. There are the genuinely crazy folks who need some kind of intervention. There are also the common garden variety drunks that are everywhere and spill over into a lot of these other groups. The fact is that Marijuana is the economic driver that supports every business in this county. If you want those big head Benjamins in your till I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with the negative aspects that it brings with it. If legalization for recreational use passes this problem will probably self correct as growing will diffuse throughout the state. Until then this continues to be the new gold rush warts and all.

Ullr rover
Guest
Ullr rover
8 years ago

There are plenty of places to sleep legally. You can camp on USFS land (held n in trust for the People) for 21 days before moving to a different campsite.

brent
Guest
brent
8 years ago

Where is usfs land in relation to town that law doesn’t help if the spot is in kettenpom

Liz
Guest
Liz
8 years ago
Reply to  brent

The Jackson Park is on Hwy 20, between Willits and Fort Bragg.

Tara Sutherland
Guest
Tara Sutherland
8 years ago

We have a few campgrounds locally they could camp at but they would rather it be free, thrash the property and party all night which isn’t permitted at any camp grounds. Unfortunately what people aren’t getting the point of is that our town is so small and we don’t have the resources for our locals let alone people who don’t live here,pay taxes here, or contribute to keeping our community and respectful community. I was personally at one of the “bum camps” actually 2 of them and it is absolutely disgusting. It’s not safe for anyone to enter into honestly think hazmad should be called in! Feces everywhere and mounds beyond mounds of garbage. On property they are trespass on. The owners tell them and ask them to leave and they dont. We don’t buy property to let other people thrash it and damage it. I hope people take this into consideration when they think what we are doing is wrong. What they are doing is so out of line that it’s sad they are getting away with it. This beautiful place needs to remain beautiful. We are not asking them to do anything but fallow the LAW! Have a good night everyone and I hope the people judging take some serious time to think about this and see if they would be ok with any of this happening on their properties or in their homes! All we want is a presentable community , respectful community, and a peaceful community!

Mr.X
Guest
Mr.X
8 years ago

They can and should file to force easements on the land they are camping on. This way they can become property owners and pay taxes.

It’s very easy to do in California and I’d love to help these lost souls get a piece of the American dream, property.

Heck. If they are low income it costs nothing to file.

Eastside
Guest
Eastside
8 years ago
Reply to  Mr.X

Where’s your property? Maybe they should do it to you.

off my land u dirty kids
Guest
off my land u dirty kids
8 years ago
Reply to  Mr.X

I think you’re trying to sell people a bridge. You’re encouraging people to file an easement against what exactly? A railroad that doesn’t exist? A wetlands? Eminent domain on a forest? What is this “filing” you speak of or can you not post it for some invisible reason? And IF these home-free folks had a patch of land using very European methods of acquisition (simply find a way to invade and take it) which one of them is going to be the legal owner(s)? Who is going to pay the taxes and CalFire fees? Will they blow off paying them for a couple years and let the land have liens placed on it and later seized because they purposely blew off paying the taxes and other maintenance costs? Because that’s never, ever happened here in the Triangle. And who is going to pick up the tab when the DFW starts assessing fines for trashing the land and doing un-permitted improvements? I’ll bet not a single one of them.

What you’re promoting here what’s known as adverse possession. It’s a form of trespassing. I don’t think it means what you think it does, nor how it actually works. For starters, you have to have been occupying land by yourself, doing improvements beyond just camping without the legal owners knowledge for a period of time, usually a minimum of 7 years, but can be over 20. Essentially that means you’ll have to try this little stunt on some growers’ properties. Let us know how that works out for you, if you live.

Adverse Posession: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/adverse-possession-trespassers-become-owners-46934.html

Janice
Guest
Janice
8 years ago
Reply to  Mr.X

Are you willing to give them your property? If not, don’t be telling others that they should give up theirs.

HazMAD specialist
Guest
HazMAD specialist
8 years ago

Aww did you have to look at a bum? Poor thing. Ha.

Your rage is fueling comments that are proposterous.

But ….”good job” kiddo.

Liz
Guest
Liz
8 years ago

Garberville wasn’t on anyone’s radar until High Times ran it’s article in 1980. If they had not would be have today’s problem or, would the other town they could have chosen have this new problem?

Mogtx
Guest
8 years ago

Tara my name is mark olsen and I am coming to walk with u lady’s I want to offer my pertection during your walk in case the terminates get unruly

hmm
Guest
hmm
8 years ago

I find it sad that an important fact regarding this issue is never touched upon. These “trimigrants” MAY be lured to the area by the possibility of trim work, but they essentially never get any work. Ive worked on a lot of properties and never once seen one of these homeless types on a hill. I think there maybe, strike that, must be other factors luring and/or keeping them here.

sue
Guest
sue
8 years ago

As a born and raised resident of Nor Cal, I ended up leaving California all together because of this pervasive, I don’t need an education, I’ll just grow bullshit. The trimmigrants make Nor Cal a dirty, scary environment.

cthulhu
Guest
cthulhu
8 years ago

Gotta love non native “locals” hating on foreigners looking to work on a plant that isnt even local to this continent. Its locals only for everything except their homes in costa rica and their vacations in hawaii. [edit]

It's time
Guest
8 years ago

Tbot seems like a neo nazi group. Yet the people within it don’t even realize it. You say, “you don’t want everyone to leave” just a certain type of people. You form a gang/group/militia to get these “horrible” people off the streets, when all your feeling about the whole situation is your own insecurity of being around different people. Which leads me to believe that the people actually within the group, (and take it seriously) are racist people, to (just to have that type of hatred and attitude towards random people they’ve never met before) sound familiar in history? So with that said, the people within the group are ignorant, hatred having, contradicting people. Fact of the matter is, our economy works because of weed, they are here because of weed. Should everyone stop growing and kill our local economy to keep them out. I think all these people here is just karma for putting so much marijuana on the streets. Just a lil taste of our own medicine so to speak.

Ps my family has been in so hum longer than the Sutherlands, and the sutherlands have been here longer than most of these yuppie family’s trying to “take back our town” I used to think the people on the streets are dirt bags. Starting to think the people in Tbot are the real inconsiderate dirt bags.

Sprowel Creek
Guest
Sprowel Creek
8 years ago
Reply to  It's time

Come walk with us before you judge. We are not telling anyone to leave. Clean up after yourself, respect our town and don’t block the sidewalks. Name calling from afar seems to be the only contribution you have. Help out and become informed.

About time.
Guest
About time.
8 years ago
Reply to  It's time

Spot on.

Mogtx
Guest
8 years ago

How about triminites

Woodchuck
Guest
Woodchuck
8 years ago

I just think it’s strange when a 20 something young man begs me for my leftover dinner while I’m walking out of a restaurant. Meanwhile I’m paying bills and raising a family in our town working a real job 45 hours a week. I tell them shell gas is hiring at 12 bucks an hour and they are insulted. Contribute or leave