Bye-bye, Hill Folk: A Letter to the Editor

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Marijuana Garden

Outdoor marijuana garden. [Photo by Kym Kemp]

In response to a story about the permit process, a reader wrote the following…(reprinted here and signed with his permission.)

The worst part about all of this, is when all the smoke settles, NorCal may be devastated. Next time you go to the store in Redway or Garberville thank a dope grower. You people think any of this would exist without the financial flow of cannabis money? Inherently there are problems with our little society. But when big ag finally decides to play, it’ll be bye bye hill life.

Unlike some of the “old timers” some of us “younger” folks (under 50) got an education, traveled and realized that this area is very unique. An intricate weaveing of hillbilly and hippy. An area fueled completely by cannabis. I have been to, and grown, in many other rural areas in this state and let me tell you all…there is no place like home.

Most rural places have no infrastructure. They are tiny little towns with little to no services for anyone, let alone low income families. Shopping is a joke and prices and availabilty at local mercantiles are atrocious. No hospitals, schools are 20+ miles away and forget the peacefulness. Most of these other rural communities are run by cattle barons who will push their conservative views on the entire area. So no peace and love hippies, no stoners, no acid trips. All that shit is a no go anywhere else. Even this amazing website…nothing like it anywhere else! Even KMUD type stations do not exist anywhere else.

So back to my point. If we lose the throne of cannabis capital of the world it’ll be a decimation of the rural populated areas of the emerald triangle. People still have mortgages to pay, car notes etc. Without the cannabis income all of that stops. Large farms will be consumed by the government and we lose our title as the most land in the hands of private citizens. Then after all the fallout there will only be a few left. Towns will get smaller or vanish. Remember when there was a Chevrolet dealership in town? What happened? Price of pounds dropped so less money so no car sales? Just speculating.

The use of the word “greed” also frustrates me. Every human on earth strives to make a better life. Except for losers, we all want a good life with all the nice things money affords. Like solar panels or wood to build a home or a safe vehicle. So unless you give away all your extra money and live in a tiny modest house with no electricity or running water then a case can be made that you too are living in excess.

Now im no grower. I dont even have a crop this year because the market wont support mom and pop grows. But im no fool and i realize what fuels our local economy. If cannabis goes away so does our community. The sooner people realize this truth the better.

Mind you im aware that there are numerous mega assholes, no doubt, committing major environmental crimes but so do the wineries that make the booze many drink. So do most mega vegetable farms. Too many people have their heads in the sand.

Just my opinion. I’ve seen how mega the farms in the central valley are. Trust me, one farm in the central valley can produce a lot more than 20 mega hill grows! Im afraid the wheels are already in motion, however. Then what are we all going to do…?Steve Judd

 

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Rusty
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Rusty
6 years ago

It will return to a quite retirement community it used to be. Same thing happened after the Gold rush. The car dealership was Timber money. Maybe some of the non grower’s who were forced out can buy back there old land for pennies on the dollar. Sweet.

Magda Mendoza
Guest
Magda Mendoza
6 years ago
Reply to  Rusty

Agree. We moved here to build retirement home. We don’t smoke/use cannabis, so we’d never heard of Emerald Triangle in that aspect. We thought it referred to the Redwoods. Imagine our shock when we arrived here, after selling home, and found Eureka in the state that it is in. My husband was devastated. He went to school at HSU and built his first two homes (he’s a construction manager/engineer) near Cutten. His first two sales of homes he designed and built. We were ready for cooler weather, Redwoods, and the charm we thought had survived. We found transients, homelessness, rampant drug use, rubbish everywhere, homes and schools in disrepair. It’s like the scene one sees after an event like what happened in TX last week. Logging and fishing left, and Eureka never recovered. It’s time for people to take their city back. Mega-grows in Central CA are coming. They have the infrastructure, the employees, the unions, the transportation – already in place. Our friends are switching half their almond grows to cannabis grows. This part of CA needs to be ready and needs to start on a new business for the economy here. Time to find a new identity and then, enjoy it.

Good!
Guest
Good!
6 years ago
Reply to  Magda Mendoza

100% correct, can’t wait till this blows away and the economy wave washes this scourge of greed, selfish, transient, drug filled misgivings you have all brought on in the past 15 years. Bye Bye baby and hello to a quieter way of life.

Bob
Guest
Bob
6 years ago
Reply to  Good!

You won’t have to wait long the weed business is in a race to the bottom. Thank all those that wanted legal weed and the whimps that didn’t have the balls to be outlaws. It will be so good for the Emerald Triangle when all the transients, homeless and drug addicts leave and the communities have a real economy at whatever that level is it will be a better than now.

LabeledaNazi
Guest
LabeledaNazi
6 years ago
Reply to  Bob

What economy? Are u talking about that will be here….? The drug addicts.?There will be 10 fold on that. Homeless people? Well there will lots more of those with no economy here!! Duh. U can have humboldt bob.Its a ghetto that’s gonna get a lot worse. At least I made $ to move out of here n retire. Thanks Steve Judd. Great letter. U hit it on the head

Steve
Guest
Steve
6 years ago
Reply to  LabeledaNazi

Tourism is an economy. Just doesn’t exist because this area is full of shit. Literally and figuratively.

hmm
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hmm
6 years ago
Reply to  Bob

Get ready for a lot more homless drug addicts when our economy collapses.

ghostown
Guest
ghostown
6 years ago
Reply to  hmm

word.

Rick
Guest
Rick
6 years ago
Reply to  Bob

You sold your home and somewhere you hadn’t been in apparently decades.
Brilliant.
Way to roll the dice. It makes it hard to have much sympathy for you. (And to give any credence to the wisdom contained in your post)
I do however have nothing empathy and compassion for all the groundbreaking growers who built this industry in the 70’s and 80’s, before it was “legal”. Most of them,at least the few I know, wanted nothing more than to be left alone and be able to raise a family.
Working hard to make a home, honest living thru hard work and creating a new industry from the ground up in an poverty stricken area.
While there are exceptions to every rule, most of these entrepreneurs connected with the land and did the right thing. (Only to feel surrounded at their homes by visual and aural blight after all these years. Many of the old Heads are moving away from their homes and the industry they created.)
Now the exact opposite is true. Greed is the byword of the day.
Anything is acceptable in the race to cross the finish line first, while the environment, community and end product suffer. Pollution and tweakers. Poisoned and empty waterways. Organized crime where old hippies moved to get away from such things.
Rampant corruption.
The bright side??
A huge percentage of these “growers” are Johnny come latelys, who when faced with the ever mounting fees and licensing costs, the possibility of Law Enforcement in the sky’s,(paid for by generous donations from Phillip Morris, Monsanto etc….) like the old(is) days will take their I’ll gotten gains cut and run.
Cause they are not and never have been doing this for anything other than Money. Not for the Love of the herb and blessings provided by working out in the sun for yourself.
As for the rest of us….Outlaws will do what they have always do.
Get stuff done.
There will always be a market for high quality organic grass, grown with care and love by Families, not corporations.
We survived years of C.A.M.P., M.E.T. , Operation Greensweep, etc….this will be no different.
Small batches by small growers who care as opposed to corporate mid grade.
Won’t bother me at all.
Very much looking forward to seeing the greencroppers pack and go when it gets even a little bumpy down the road.

How do you take away something you might find a bit threatening to your agenda??
Something the man can’t tax or control??
Something wonderful that only straight up Outlaws are willing to chance doing???
Easy.
You mainstream it, legalize it and tax it. Then it’s not so threatening anymore.
*Prop 64: prohibition under the guise of legalization*

Btw: Logging and Fishing didn’t”leave”.
They logged every damn tree until they didn’t have nothing left. Logged themselves right out of business.
The fisherman are done due to pollution (a significant part of which was directly related to the logging) and to a lesser extant the same mistakes that killed logging. (Living for today, with no plan for tomorrow. Although we all miss the pulp mill and it’s wonderful smell)
Marijuana’s.been the only reason that there any communities left up here. Footing the bill since the early 80’s. Although I should get ready for “some new business (growing mid grade Marijuana for some corporate shill and a new identity”
Well….I love the life I’ve led for the last 30+ years and I don’t want a soul sucking job that makes some already rich person richer. And I’m happy to continue on with my smaller organic grow that keeps a roof over my head and family fed.
I would humbly suggest you head back to the central valley and grow some almonds next to your commercial greenhouse of commercial weed. Afer all “they have employees, infrastructure, etc….”
Do you not realize that the people that really, I mean really grow the best of the best and live here don’t want your straight life??
Just some food for thought.

Trillium Hummingbird
Guest
Trillium Hummingbird
6 years ago
Reply to  Rick

Shouldn’t have took more than you gave
Wouldn’t be in this mess today
I know we’ve all got different ways
But the dues we’ve got to pay are still the same
Trying to change the script for this old play
Reading and not feeling what you say
You’ re coming on too strong for me to stay
Interpret what you’re seeing anyway
Seems the simple things are the hardest to explain
It’s going to come too soon, there’s another way
Footprints in the snow will show well things are still the same
Beneath the wall of sound someone helps to live again.. Dave Mason

Get a new plan. Quit smoking that dope, it makes you whiny, like little children too tired to go to bed.

Lisa
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Lisa
6 years ago
Reply to  Rick

Can i get a witness.

Timothy McVeigh's ghost
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Timothy McVeigh's ghost
6 years ago
Reply to  Rick

Spot on Rick!

Bill
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Bill
6 years ago
Reply to  Rick

[edit] “…..logged every tree until they didn’t have nothing left.” Are you fricking kidding me!!! If there are not trees left then what is burning every summer for the last 10 years or so. Trees, [edit]. You are just another transplanted southern Californian that came up here and shut down the industries. Yes the pulp mill had a foul odor when the wind blew it towards Humboldt Hill area, but it was odors created from the break down of wood chips. The pulp mill provided roughly 200 jobs per shift and operated on three shifts 24/7. Now we ship our chips oversees to have Asian rim countries process the chips in pulp mills without any environmental regulations and then ship the paper back to the US. What a fucked up situation that is!!! Again, environmental whack jobs that are extremely hypocritical when it comes to the environment. The pulp mill in Samoa was the first in the US and one of the first in the World to go chlorine free, but still the enviro’s had to shut it down. Along with the mills, because as Rick says there are no more trees left.

Does anybody get out and look around the hills, the ones that are not burning are covered in trees. Some old, some new, some mid-range.

The wildfires we are experiencing in the last 10 years and more never used to exist in the days when the Forest Service and State would routinely perform harvests in the forests. Wildfires now blow up into mega-fires because there are no fuel breaks, logging roads, and thinnings to provide fuel breaks like they did in the past.

[edit] Look around and think for yourselves don’t let a transplanted Southern Californian tell you about what it was like here and what it takes to be a community.

David MySky
Guest
David MySky
6 years ago
Reply to  Bob

It never should have been criminalized in the first place.

Sleepy Alligator
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Sleepy Alligator
6 years ago
Reply to  Magda Mendoza

A wise person (or a couple) would have researched the area they were considering moving to after retirement BEFORE selling their home. Bit much of a gamble to sell your home and then move to a place you hope meets your requirements don’t you think?

hmm
Guest
hmm
6 years ago

That’s what I thought.

Shel
Guest
Shel
6 years ago

In defense of the ppl that moved and was surprised. I have seen that before. You can research the heck out of a place but unless you stop at the local watering hole, the small bodegas, little neighborhoods with parks and the likes to talk with ppl, you are going to be met with an abundance of PR/ Chamber of Commerce/ Tourism Board lies. Yep, police/ sheriff logs that don’t get reported to the public, other important information like nuclear reactors build on fault lines info being vague/obscure/ missing/ outdated. Local newsprint paper that just have a few small snips of news reports that are substandard as far as newspapers go. People come dreamy eyed to this lovely land and don’t see the seedy underside (no pun intended). But the creepiness is starting to ooze out of control and its harder to contain and hide. I laugh when I hear of all these wonderful ‘touristy’ things being in the vein of ‘build it and they will come’ … until it gets out about the junkies, squatters and meth whores taking up Old Towne in droves. And that is just one chip in the teacup!

Huh
Guest
Huh
6 years ago
Reply to  Magda Mendoza

Umm its kinda hard to believe you never heard humboldt associated with pot, its been that way for at least 40 years. Definitely good to look at the news in the area youre moving to. Reggae on the river didnt clue you in?

Cass
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Cass
6 years ago
Reply to  Rusty

Right on 100 percent Magda!

Mysteria01
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Mysteria01
6 years ago
Reply to  Rusty

Change is inevitable….people will just need to learn how to adapt. Humboldt county has a heartbeat all of its own and is not a realistic example of the “real world.” Unfortunately, those that are in fear will just have to put on their big boy/girl panties and get more creative in their financial lives. We live in the most beautiful place on earth and for those who truly appreciate what they have in living here will survive through the changes.

Rizzo retirement
Guest
Rizzo retirement
6 years ago
Reply to  Rusty

“So unless you (spend) give away all your extra money (on government regulations and supporting the brotherhood) and live in a tiny modest house with no electricity or running water then a case can be made that you too are living in excess.”

Exactly the lot of everyone who is not part of the government union brotherhood. If you don’ like, then take your hippy and leave.

Rooster
Guest
Rooster
6 years ago
Reply to  Rusty

I grew up in the mountains of Humboldt. And I grew in the mountains of Humboldt. I loved the industry. It provided freedom in ways I’ve never experienced. It was truely the American dream. I’m so sad that the government is moving in on all of that and ruining it for those of us who actually made it happen! It’s bullshit! Love you Willow Creek

Times are changing!
Guest
Times are changing!
6 years ago

The times of the past are truly changing. Competition from big Ag is going to be the downfall for what has been the norm here in Humboldt county. Once the Central Valley takes hold of this Agricultural commodity well I think that will be hard to beat. I know nobody wants to believe this but Ag economics are a tough and cut throat. once the black market is over I can’t see how the hill growers will compete. Best of luck to all farmers as they are the lifeblood to human existence.

LabeledaNazi
Guest
LabeledaNazi
6 years ago

If its a drug there will always be s black market. Texas is buying weed! New Yorkers are buying weed! Come on I’ve been in this game long enough. Legal big ag can’t sell out of state….so then there’s the outlaws,born n raised bad ass’s! And yes they will make money on the black market. Nice try but your delusional at least

Steve
Guest
Steve
6 years ago
Reply to  LabeledaNazi

Dude, I think you might be the delusional one. Those States do not have the population to support the amount of production that comes out of this state. Also, Texas gets the majority of their product from Mexico. Just embrace the fact that your way of life is over. Quit grasping at straws. Time to grow up and move on. Hopefully you have a trade that’s worthwhile.

Antichrist
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Antichrist
6 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Mexico doesnt compare to humboldt, end of story.

Bleary Eyed
Guest
Bleary Eyed
6 years ago
Reply to  Steve

The Texans are here now and buying. Quality. Organic. Humboldt. Yes the name means a lot. Just back from Vegas and Chicago. Shatter reigns supreme. No trimmers necessary. One dab will do ya.

Hubertus
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Hubertus
6 years ago
Reply to  Steve

Lol, Mexican weed, what is this, the 70’s?

David MySky
Guest
David MySky
6 years ago
Reply to  Hubertus

We’re spoiled here. Yeah, they still buy that ditchweed in TX and the Midwest.

Shel
Guest
Shel
6 years ago

Long as the hills can keep quality goods and GMO free, they might be in the running to hold their title and a little of their livelihood but change is coming and Uncle Sam wants his part of your enterprise.

Trillium Hummingbird
Guest
Trillium Hummingbird
6 years ago

Life is change. Were different from trees and rocks. All you have to do is CHANGE WITH IT!

So what if cannabis is gone? There WILL be something else!

Easy money always attracts easy people! Will YOU be the one who has something to offer the area, in the long run?

Trillium Hummingbird
Guest
Trillium Hummingbird
6 years ago

Talent+hard work+resiliency = success.

Whining about the past, getting high and complaining, trying to do things the same old way, all this, will get you nowhere.

Time to move forward, plan anew, and get dedicated to something else!!

Quit bitching, move on, no fear!

Antichrist
Guest
Antichrist
6 years ago

Yes work harder for the masters so you can have a place to live food to eat and a car to get you to and from work, maybe if you work hard enough, they will pay you enough to go on a holiday every couple of years. The americian dream is a joke .

Emily
Guest
Emily
6 years ago

That’s a nice formula but its a lot harder in the real world. Most weed people haven’t run a business where you really have to watch your expenses; cut payroll and have a budget. It’s a lot tighter in the real world. You quickly realize that it’s not realistic to pay all your friends exorbitant rates to work for you; and minimum wage seems like a lot when you factor in all the other expenses like workers comp insurance, payroll tax etc. That is what kills most small business. If I wasn’t a hardcore democrat it’d make me think about being a republican, with all the taxes you have to pay in small business in CA.

hmm
Guest
hmm
6 years ago

Yes there will be something else, a devastated economy and horrible civil issues. We still never recoverd from the conservatives rapeing the forest and fishery to near death.

Trillium Hummingbird
Guest
Trillium Hummingbird
6 years ago
Reply to  hmm

OH! Woe is us!

The forest will recover, is people stay out!

The fishery? Hmmmm… See the forests…

Humans are clever, they may save the place yet!

Please
Guest
Please
6 years ago

Having benefitted from the unique situation in this area, if you are a grower please support some local charities with your profits from cannabis. Just send increments of $420 and we’ll know where it came from. It will help clean up after all the un-fixed pit bulls or help out the “old timers” who built the business. That would be great. Thank you.

Thinking allowed
Guest
Thinking allowed
6 years ago

Fortunately that is not correct. In fact it is self serving nonsense. Before pot ruled Humboldt County, there were little towns. They had a diversity of economies from timber to tourism. Fishing, ranching, hunting, farming, the arts, oysters, bars, etc. There were actually more hospitals and doctors.

Now Humboldt can’t attract doctors because the drug/crime culture mean most people don’t pay their way and the pervasive violence means the quality of life can not make up for the lack of money. Few with other options want to put up with it. Schools are reflections of the drugs and violence- many parents struggle mightily to keep their children from going down the same drain. Car wrecks, pedestrian deaths, murders, begging on ever corner, a library that is more a refugee for homeless than a place to read, etc etc etc.

The thing that is really, really frightening is the people who say the things like the letter writer really believe that money created on the misery of pot culture is sufficient to be called a good life. No matter how wrong it goes- and they themselves are always lamenting the good old days when they were young when pot was not king, delusional as it may be- the idea that a culture build on inebriation and dissatisfaction with life can ever go right is impossible. Society was better able to carry their ineptitude when their numbers were small. It was never a good world for anyone but themselves, while the rest of the world carried them. But too many looking for their own ease at other’s expense can drag down the most vibrant community.

The very things they complain will happen that they find so frightening is pot growing disappears from Humboldt Co- poor shopping? Rancher mentality? – does not destroy a community. Gangsters do. It’s like the Mafia culture in southern Italy. The mafia were the patrons who supplied the wants of their community because they killed off those that opposed them, controlled everything by their overbearing presence and gathered in all the resources themselves. I’m sure the Mafia also touts its generosity to the community as a sop to the evils they bring. But the reality is that the community would not need their ‘generosity’ if their presence did not impoverish the community in the first place.

Cass
Guest
Cass
6 years ago

To “Thinking Allowed” well said thank you!

Magda Mendoza
Guest
Magda Mendoza
6 years ago

Awesome. Well said. I hope that your vision comes true and that my younger friends, with young children, are able to safely raise their kids here. I was amazed, at a job fair, how many adults had no work history, no credit history, nothing. They’ve worked grows since they were teens. All the years they have lost to a business that doesn’t give a shit about them. I know a young man who fell down “up the hill” and was injured. Someone drove him to Eureka and dropped him off. There’s no insurance of any kind for these people. None. No workers compensation, no unemployment; nothing. People imagine grows as hippie friendly places, in the shade of redwoods, where people cheerfully go about gardening like forest gnomes. It’s not. It’s sleeping outside and hoping the ticks don’t get in your sleeping bag. It’s working like a slave all day, and eating crap food like boiled hotdogs, all outside. No bathroom. No shower. It’s slave labor. The cash that is paid does not provide for a Life. The OWNERS of the grows – now those people have money. Buckets of it. They depend on word of mouth referrals. I have heard stories from undocumented workers, who have done some of the heaviest work there is – who say they won’t work in grows. They’re dangerous. Everyone is always on “alert” for grove pirates. Open your eyes. Don’t support illegal grows. There are sufficient legal, family run, multi-generation grows that are not only legitimate, but who do research and provide cannabis to medical labs for research. There are fields that will open up for legal work in cannabis – property insurance, security, transportation, research, development, art, clothing, creating edible items for patients who don’t smoke, etc. There is no lack of choices for people who want a legitimate career in cannabis. All you grow workers, you’re just like ox. Just animals that do the work so that someone else can reap the reward.

judi
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  Magda Mendoza

magda, your husband was a contractor. did he not hire workers who he didn’t pay benefits for?
i have seen horrible things happen to people working for cash and they think the $ they busted ass for was easy pickings because it came under the table.
under the table workers should be setting up to make income earned pay by their contracted tasks, paying their own for fica, state & federal tax, and ins. then when the inevitable industrial injury occurs they can have clean hands and receive benefits made available by agencies who assist tax payers ill or injured.

i know how people with grows suck that truly sucks at giving a shit about those working for them, and how many hired help get ripped off and not paid at all. it’s not just the weed industry and this working for cash happens all over the country.
there was a “ranch” down the road with many workers. the workers lived in a machine shed with no running water, extension cords from the barn to the shed, roofs that leaked horribly, no heat. they slept on cots. they worked $5 an hr cash. like the company store the rancher held back a huge % of their wages to cover their room and board! the ranch hands were often injured and disposable. but there are no jobs in this place and these people put up and shut up.

if a hired hand in shitty situations were able to be above board they would have been able to legally try improve their work and living situations.

Emily
Guest
Emily
6 years ago
Reply to  Magda Mendoza

You could say that about any worker in any industry. Not a good point. If it’s such a terrible job how come so many line up for the work? Ever try to run a legal business for minimum wage above the table job? Now that’s when it’s hard to find good help.

shak
Guest
shak
6 years ago

So well said, TA. You nailed it.

Bob
Guest
Bob
6 years ago

That was so well said totally on point.

Just my opinion
Guest
Just my opinion
6 years ago

Its funny how many only see the problems associated with all large communities, they quickly rationalize all the local problems with cannabis but forget all the local good because of it. So tell me then what fuels this economy? What single industry supports all this life on the north coast? Tourism…nope. Timber…nope. Fishing….nope. All of you hating on cannabis are living a fantasy. Like it or not it’s part of the state economy and Humboldt is the epicenter. I wish theyre was a real study on what percentage of the people here are directly or indirectly associated with cannabis. I once heard over 76% at a low estimate. But who really knows?

Environmental laws and new international suppliers of goods will make your dream of a little retirement community just that, only a dream. That dream failed years ago and cannabis pulled it out of a depression. To continue existing a local economy has to be able to sustain the locals…

If im understanding some of these comments, there are people here that believe that removing cannabis will fix the north coast. That’s laughable, because only the ones that can afford to leave will go right away. The rest will find other ways to make money legally or illegally, and flood the workforce of an already failing economy. The rest will peter out slowly as they cant sustain.

Without cannabis I would bet that the next progression would be towards meth labs. Perfect remote locations to “crank” it out. Ask people from the central valley whats in their hills. Meth labs! Because most central valley counties ban cultivation and will take your land for minor cultivation charges.

And im not against ranching. However go to a huge cattle ranch and see what it does to the mountains. Drive through an area of open range and look how the hills are destroyed. Paths on paths on paths everywhere and land runoff is a common thing during rain. And it really rains here. Cows shitting in the rivers. Fences put up through waterways to keep cattle on property. Natural streams destoyed by cattle trampling it. I was part of a state restoration project that took an interest in the environmental impact of large scale grazing. So i know its impact especially on loose pack hillsides like here. Too many anti cannabis people assume that all pro cannabis people are greedily pillaging the earth and deatroying nature to earn a buck. Before i became partially disabled i was working for a conservation district that tried to conserve replenish and restore the central valleys, largest ag counties, environmental well being as well as suit the needs of an ever growing population. Ive been paid to see how this stuff works. Im not just hill educated and im not just taking snipets of canna culture from news media and word of mouth. Im a highly educated, well versed, environmentally conscious, supporter of cannabis and its place in our failing economy, county and statewide!

All this mafioso talk and gangster talk is funny too. I agree its a serious issue and those people need to be tossed out of here on their ass. An issue created by prohibition. But most of these “gangsters” are good ol boys from here! The only reason organized crime showed up because the good ol boys were making a killing at 4 and 5k a pound! But the good ol boys started this show. Dont get that twisted. They owned the land they sold a lot too, and they pushed the roads to these remote spots a long time ago to chop down trees. Now its time to clean up the industry or risk losing the local infrastructure. Fact in point it will never go back to “how it was”, nothing ever does. Communities evolve collectively.

If you claim to not no any growers your either a liar or you friends are.

Heres another fyi. Go to any other big town a see how many homeless, transients and meth heads there are. In the bigger scope of life its an epidemic everywhere…there is a huge narcotic problem sweeping over this country like never before. So bad in fact that some counties dont even arrest for uti anymore, just cite and release. So to blame the cannabis industry for our meth problem is laughable. From san diego to crescent city there are tweakers everywhere. Geesh do you people ever go anywhere?

Thinking allowed
Guest
Thinking allowed
6 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

It’s like so much else in the world. The minute ‘everyone’s doing it’, ‘it’and everyone in ‘it’ are doomed. Here if you pitch a rock in any direction, it will hit a grower and bounce off two others before it finds a non user/grower.

‘It’ has made for a neighborhood that shares nothing, takes where ever possible. In fact, I suppose it is not a neighborhood at all but a series of houses where no neighborly barbecues occur, where promises are easily made and instantly forgotten, where interests do not go beyond pot. People used to volunteer for local improvements- now they stay behind their stockade fences. They hide out and smoke.

The numbers dragging a community down have exceeded the numbers who lift a community up.

local
Guest
local
6 years ago

So sorry you feel that way.
If you want to see community, go to a community event. We volunteered at the hospice ‘ Taste of the Cove’ fundraiser on Sunday.
Big crowd, lots of great active community members. There were pot farmers and business people, young and old people of all kinds. The thing they all have in common is participating in the local community. From there we went to the
Whale Gulch fire department BBQ at four corners, it also had a lot of people supporting their community. We need to push the newcomers to support the community organizations that serve the people.
Hospice and the volunteer fire departments and the Healy senior center and all the local non profits need your help more than ever. Give them time, give them money, and encourage others to do so. Our community needs people from all kinds of lifestyles to participate. Talking and complaining won’t help.
Get out and do something.
It’s true that a lot of newcomers have come here to try to make a quick buck, we need to educate them and include them. No man is an island, but we have to keep reminding people of that.

Antichrist
Guest
Antichrist
6 years ago

The days of the neighborhood bbqs have past long ago, about the closest thing you will find like that anywhere in america might be country clubs…..

Joe Mota
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  Antichrist

You’re wrong. I went to the Whale Gulch fire dept BBQ last Sunday. It was great. Going to the Briceland VFD bbq next Saturday. Expecting a great turnout of old timers and their children and grandchildren. Your negativity is misplaced.

Guest
Guest
Guest
6 years ago

“a series of houses where no neighborly barbecues occur,”

I’ve seen that here. Southern Humboldt is like that. It’s not because of pot because Mendocino isn’t like that, once you get south of Legget. Santa Cruz wasn’t like that. Grass Valley isn’t like that. Northern Humboldt isn’t like that. I seriously wonder if it stems from the land itself.

spam
Guest
spam
6 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

If you aren’t ‘doing it’ you ain’t in the club.

The succinct version of SoHum so-called ‘society’.

And it’s KNOW, not ‘no’…some education, huh?

Granny
Guest
Granny
6 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

And sometimes “autocorrect” gets it wrong as well, lol!

hmm
Guest
hmm
6 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

Making grammatical or punctuation errors is easy. I see several in your post. I know plenty of smart folks who need assistance with their grammar and punctuation. And, I know a few folks with impeccable grammar who are asses.

🙂

spam
Guest
spam
6 years ago
Reply to  Kym Kemp

It’s jarring to read. The dumbing down of America, where ignorance is held up to be desirable.

The ability to spell or not speaks volumes about the person’s message and their credibility.

And yep, I’m an asshole, but I can spell.

The comment wasn’t even directed at you…

fully automated luxury gay space communism
Guest
fully automated luxury gay space communism
6 years ago
Reply to  spam

Proper grammar is just what the bourgeoisie uses to exclude people that haven’t had a formal education from the dialogue.

Lone ranger
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Lone ranger
6 years ago

Arrest for an uti, why? Illegal bacteria? What happened to pee freely?As for dope , if you you couldn’t see this 5 yrs ago you are a dope lol,

Steve
Guest
Steve
6 years ago

Nailed it. Couldn’t have said it better myself.

THC
Guest
THC
6 years ago

Well that elephant just took a big ole shit on the floor huh. Most of the people I know that have been here since at least the 80s understands this all too well. As a fourth-generation resident I’ve been around long enough to watch the fishing, loging and ranching all but dry up and go away except for the stuff controlled by big corporations. The people wanted easy access to their “Miracle medicine” but I guess they didn’t stop to think that just about every other medicine in this country is controlled by pharmaceutical companys. Yeah yeah I know you can still get heroin, meth and cocaine on the street but it’s not anywhere close to as Pure as it used to be even in the thirties when you could buy it at the corner market store, and you can get much better through a prescription. people also seem to forget more people overdose on prescription drugs given to them by doctors every year than all other street drugs combined, so regardless of the black market pharmaceutical companys still Corner the market on most drugs and it’s just a matter of time before big Pharma and big AG get their hands on your “Miracle weed”. Shit even with a 215 you still have to pay a doctor a separate fee to get your prescription, I don’t think there’s another prescription prescribed by a doctor that you pay a special fee for or am I mistaken.

From my own observations over the last 30-plus years, it wasn’t pot growers that forced all the other Industries to shut down, it was regulations that shut down the other sources of income that force people to grow more pot. Only since 215 was passed have we had a huge rush of people coming up here to rape the land for huge profits.

Magpie from mendo
Guest
Magpie from mendo
6 years ago
Reply to  THC

💯 percent agree with THC! Ever since 215 passed and made it to where anyone with script could grow 25 in their yard, here came all the green rushers! It’s absolutely horrible what some of these mass profit growers have done to our land here in emerald tri! When I first moved here, logging and fishing were a big thing. Gurrilla grows we’re happening and NOBODY talked anything about it! They kept their goddamn mouths shut on the subject! I so wish we could go back to those times… but that’ll never happen

shak
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shak
6 years ago
Reply to  THC

You nailed it THC and Magpie. Too very true.

Patriot in Willits
Guest
Patriot in Willits
6 years ago
Reply to  THC

I agree with much of what THC has to say, but I also want to remind people that the logging industry wasn’t exactly benevolent stewards of the land. A major reason why the timber industry is a shadow of what it used to be isn’t just because of “regulations “, you had corporations like Maxxam clear cutting to make as much cash as they could in the short term. Much like some of the megagrowers, who are trying to cash in before the price hits bottom.

Silverlining
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Silverlining
6 years ago

Most of the terrible gulleys are from logging.

Stefelony
Guest
Stefelony
6 years ago

exactly! corporation’s have been buying up land all over the triangle, they are doing all these raids right now why? to be able to seize the land for operating illegal grows, turn that land over to corporation’s & steal our Humboldt brand, ruin our economy, & turn Humboldt county into a franchise that we don’t even profit off of. trust & believe this has been coming, Marlboro has been buying land around Humboldt for years, that piece of land with the razor wire fences, Marlboro’s land now. that little hick up in the legal age to buy cigarettes from 18 to 21? why didn’t big tobacco fight it? maybe because it was part of the plan in making marijuana legal, less people will complain about selling weed to people who are the legal drinking age. notice lately they have been doing more raids than usual? why do you think that is, shutting down the competition, doing a land grab & taking away the revenue that the marijuana brings this county. Big money will take our county away & turn it into a brand that we will no longer profit from. I don’t grow, I don’t even smoke, but I was raised to respect the marijuana industry, the growers bring money into this county we need. now its about to all get funneled into big money.
it makes me upset & frustrated to see this just slipping by, to know the changes that will come & see the end to the Humboldt way of life, what made us unique & special, self sustaining, is being slowly taken from us & nobody is doing anything to stop it.

Thinking allowed
Guest
Thinking allowed
6 years ago
Reply to  Stefelony

Pot killed the laws that protected it from these depredations in the idea of bettering their own lives. Just as they created a world where they forced out the little guy with huge pots of money, now it is their turn.

Lack of foresight -greedy blindness- created the opening for the wholesale destruction going on now. And you can’t stop it with the cry of ‘not me’ now.

Trillium Hummingbird
Guest
Trillium Hummingbird
6 years ago
Reply to  Stefelony

What did Rockefeller say? “Nattering nabobs of negativity”…

Wow, everything is OVER! Boo Hoo!

You all whine like, well, like little babies from SoHum!

Get a job, bitches! Work to build a life. The easy money may end, but tough times, tough people!

There is more opportunity now, than at anytime in the last 10 years! Get off your asses, quit smoking that dope, get to work!

Susy Barsotti
Guest
Susy Barsotti
6 years ago

Actually, it was ol’ Spiro Agnew that coined the ‘nabobs’ line.

Trillium Hummingbird
Guest
Trillium Hummingbird
6 years ago
Reply to  Susy Barsotti

Thanks for the correction! Too bad about old Spiro… People who think the world is going to hell should have been around during Nixon – Agnew!

Ross L Rowley
Guest
Ross L Rowley
6 years ago

Well, there’s Good News, there’s Bad News…and then, there’s Agnews.

Richard Finch
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Richard Finch
6 years ago
Reply to  Susy Barsotti

Which was included in a speech written for him by William Safire.

Hubertus
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Hubertus
6 years ago

> There is more opportunity now, than at anytime in the last 10 years!

By what metric?

Trillium Hummingbird
Guest
Trillium Hummingbird
6 years ago
Reply to  Stefelony

Obviously, you’ve been out in the woods too long… I like the way you think though!

I hope you eventually figure out that nobody is out to get just you!

Time to smarten up, tighten up, get a new plan! Will you survive, or run home to mommy?

Honeydew Bridge C.H.U.M.P.
Guest
Honeydew Bridge C.H.U.M.P.
6 years ago

We need a holiday for the day that the last grower leaves.

I don’t know anyone that grows dope, and don’t want to know these druggies.

Growers get out, and go back to your slums.

Dan Fuller
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Dan Fuller
6 years ago

PLEASE DO CHUMP!!!! he sooner the better for ALL involved!!!

Cass
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Cass
6 years ago

👍👍👍

festes haggins
Guest
festes haggins
6 years ago

This was a fine place in the mid 1960s , then you little dope smokers came sneaking in from L/A , S/F etc. and it has been a giant swirl down the drain ever since.

Sleepy Alligator
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Sleepy Alligator
6 years ago

Keep waiting for that day chump, let me know how that works out for you.

MendocinoMamma
Guest
MendocinoMamma
6 years ago

C.H.U.M.P.

County of Humboldt s Ultimate Marijuana Producer.

Now we all know lol!

Just my opinion
Guest
Just my opinion
6 years ago
Reply to  MendocinoMamma

I knew it…

Sleepy Alligator
Guest
Sleepy Alligator
6 years ago
Reply to  MendocinoMamma

Oohhh!!! So that’s why the comment section of every story on this site hasn’t been plagued by chumps rantings lately. Running a super duper ultra mega grow is a very busy job this time of year.

The Hermit of Grizzly Mountain
Guest
The Hermit of Grizzly Mountain
6 years ago

I’ve been reading the article and these comments and the thought occurred to me this is the finest, well-reasoned discussion on the topic here for some time. Then I caught myself thinking “until the chump posts-” I stopped mid-thought. Don’t jinx it.

Too late. I scrolled down & there he was- the veritable turd in a bowl of milk. The toxic exception. Sigh.

Stormy
Guest
Stormy
6 years ago

More bad editing. More bad writing. The letters to the editor used to be actually edited at newspapers and in other sources of commentary and “news.” Now it’s all so bad who can tell the source: “real” news, fake news, the editor/website owner’s fifteen year old nephew -? Anyone who expresses themselves like that deserves to be in the hills.

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
6 years ago
Reply to  Stormy

Another bad comment

fuckwalterwhite.com
Guest
fuckwalterwhite.com
6 years ago

If they can learn to grow,they can learn something else.
Too much of one product isn’t good. A good community is diverse in every way.
Home Construction is what they teach in other areas with a lot of land.
That would increase liveable land options and values,fix urban blight,create jobs,attract new legitimate careers,investors,professionals,and many other benefits.
But the weed…
I doubt there are legitimate professionals thinking about moving here to make money off growers with their chosen career.
New non-weed companies aren’t going to build here,knowing there aren’t enough skilled or dedicated employees.
I don’t want a weed job. I can’t agree with wnyone raising children in that environment.

MendocinoMamma
Guest
MendocinoMamma
6 years ago

Am observing lots of very wealthy folks with dollar signs in their eyes…we can make even MORE money. They never smoked or used marijuana at all but now they want in on a piece of the pie. They took a tour of a couple of farms looking for investors as they have made no profits yet. But the gentleman running it was exposing how much money he’s making and the people were chomping at the bit. Problem is the returns are yet to be seen I’ve read a couple of great articles recently about the probability and problems of investing in a marijuana world there’s definitely some points to ponder.

MendocinoMamma
Guest
MendocinoMamma
6 years ago
Reply to  MendocinoMamma

???????? Reality the bubble is popping. And if we do not diversify to sustain ourselves we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Reality Check
Guest
Reality Check
6 years ago

As soon as the state starts giving out licenses the domestic (in-state) market will be available only to local permit/state license holders. This is good news to those farms that are pursuing legalization. They’ll have early access to a verifiable market. The bad news is that California is a big state and there are many places suitable for producing cannabis that are better connected to infrastructure (roads, electricity etc.).
Just as there are many people in Humboldt that just came to make a buck, environment be damned, there are many, many people who are here for love of the land and the liberty to create our own culture and community.
It is going to be different than it has been, and soon.
Even with the continuation of the black market, prices are down. The whole Humboldt economy, especially SoHum, is going to feel the effects.
As for the homeless/degenerate issue, the reason Garberville/Redway and Eureka is struggling with a large population of homeless, drug addicts and those with mental illnesses is part of a larger national phenomenon. The lack of services and opportunity for these people is a nationwide issue. It is easier for these people to find refuge in rural places than in more populated towns and cities where they are constantly harrassed and moved along. There’s no doubt that Humboldt has extra appeal, though, with it’s cultural outlaw mentality and an economy that is more robust than most rural places. The idea that the only the pot economy created the proliferation of their presence is a narrow one. Things need to change on a national scale to ease this issue, more services, more opportunity to be a part of the middle class.
So what’s in store? Those farmers that will find themselves ‘underwater’ for having overcomitted to debt in the expectation of continued profits will have to sell, no doubt. Land prices will go down. People wanting to escape the cities south of us will increase. Land prices will stabilize.
Our culture will remain, and it will also change along with the times. There are a lot of good, ethical, community minded people waiting for the roar of generators and diesel trucks to die down and for the return of just the sound of the insects and the wind in the trees. There will be more challenges with a less rich economy, but the ‘hill folks’ have ever been defined by their resourcefulness.

Mindful local
Guest
Mindful local
6 years ago
Reply to  Reality Check

That is by far the most thoughtful & well reasoned post on this entire thread.

Just my opinion
Guest
Just my opinion
6 years ago
Reply to  Reality Check

Great post! Educated open minded and brilliantly written.

shak
Guest
shak
6 years ago

Decriminalize it already. Nobody abuses the growing of typical nursery plants, except the tax man.

Yep
Guest
Yep
6 years ago

One of the main reasons we’re seeing so many homeless from out if the area and increase in crime is the remarkably fast gentrification of san fran then portland then seattle and now sacramento. People literally cant afford to live in those places and were pushed out very quickly. Thanks facebook and google, hate you!
When people start feeling desperate and/or have nothing to lose then people rationalize all sorts of behaviour they normally wouldnt. I would in that situation. If you say you wouldnt youre lying to yourself.
We have a reputation as a laid back and kind community, we need our scary backwoods stories back! We are and have been for a long time a community of outlaws with a code.
The word is also out that our police do nothing!

Shel
Guest
Shel
6 years ago
Reply to  Yep

but word is out the you can bribe EPD/APD … ppl have *seen* officers taking $ off of street dealers. It doesn’t matter if this is true (or not) as that this is becoming common rhetoric. We got thugs for law enforcement, easy drugs, easy to get benefits and the list goes on.
I like the idea of having scary stories like maybe the Humboldt Snallygaster or the Humboldt Bay Kracken or something bigger and scarier than Chewbacca’s cousin in Willow Creek (sorry guys!).

thebigdeal
Guest
thebigdeal
6 years ago

communities that are influenced by cattle barons and conservative views are a lot better than communities with these homeless people wondering around. Better that acid trip people wondering around, and better than liberal views being pushed on us. Hopefully our community will look like a cattle baron influenced community

🤑
Guest
🤑
6 years ago

One saying of the great liberal God emperor Warren Buffett is “buy when there is blood in the streets”.
These streets will be flowing! Muhahaha!

Guest
Guest
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  🤑

That was George Soros.

dawni
Guest
dawni
6 years ago

Well I hate to burst your bubble but I almost didn’t make it past the part about “old timers,” (>50) not having been anywhere or seen much of the world. Get a grip! Most of my neighbors (came to rural NoMend & SoHumb) moved here with college degrees or had seen the world by traveling in various ways, be it the military, Peace Corps or other means.
Most were pretty savvy about politics and other US affairs.
I’m glad a have a retirement fund and Social Security but I’ve done a lot of different jobs in my life time.
I rarely meet some over 50 that is not more interesting, traveled and worldly than the <40 – 50 crowd that are not always as concerned with the community affairs the "old timers" are that created a lot of the good we see now in the community. Most of the newbies can't fathom to hold a "9 – 5" or work for a Real Boss! Weed be damned, They ruined it for the Mom and Pops. Sadly many of those are kids of the Mom and Poppers that let their kids get away with that crap of ruining the environment. They've trashed my road and use an inordinate amount of water because they import really bad soil to grow nasty marijuana in.

I'm thinkin'
Guest
I'm thinkin'
6 years ago

The black market will never die. There will be states to sell your hill weed in for years to come. The Fed ain’t legalizing weed any time soon.
Also, Marlboro will grow out in the blazing sun of the great California Valley where they’ll have access to ag water – I don’t think they care about little plots in SoHum. Stay hid up there and you’ll stay in business.

Devro
Guest
6 years ago
Reply to  I'm thinkin'

Hahahahahahahahahaha
( deep breath)
Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

Hick
Guest
Hick
6 years ago

Another rides the bus!

Duck off
Guest
Duck off
6 years ago

Wow, just think of how the state of the Eel River and it’s tributaries could improve if the sohum “Hill Folk” went away … don’t let the door hit you on the ass, or do … as long as you are gone

Shel
Guest
Shel
6 years ago
Reply to  Duck off

sorry but they are tunneling through your hills to drain your rivers to send the water to SoCal for all their ‘needs’ because for some strange rea$ons they have water rights. Why can’t SoCal use desal plants and the like….

MendocinoMamma
Guest
MendocinoMamma
6 years ago

Hey everyone the conversation has been fantastic. I have something to throw out here. First I do not wish want to state names or sites. As I have mentioned before I have worked in and around the industry for many years.
I truly appreciate the desire to do it right and becone legal. Environmental impact is of the utmost importance. I have had the opportunity and I will say burden too of seeing several “permitted” sites.
These sites are not horrible nor deplorable, but there are obvious to me deficiencies that should be corrected before approval of a permit is granted. The inspection should have 2 attendees to prevent bribery and a “bromance” atmosphere that fosters “vision reduction” and rapid approvals. Imagine if EVERY permit applied for was.ultimately approved. Is that the goal? Should it be? Crunched numbers today with a farmer went something like this…10 pounds…paid trimmers 1500…nutrients needed 350…Her time in process 200 hours…@20hr min. 6000…sold for 700…in the hole 850.
Plus now permits etc…she is after 30 years done was the conclusion at the end of the visit. She plans on painting now (she always did as a “hobby” but is actually VERY good) and doing cards, postcards etc.
Life is hard, work is work. Other incomes exist now and always have if you seek/sought it. Pull up your bootstraps a freaking huge waves a coming!!!

Work smarter not harder
Guest
Work smarter not harder
6 years ago
Reply to  MendocinoMamma

So many comments! And work to do..
BUT I must question the math and/or the skill of the farmer mentioned above who needed to put in twenty (20) hours PER POUND?? Which then sold for 600$ (!!)

Most around here can pull off 250# in 200 hours
(3.5 hr / 6 days week for 10weeks)

That gal really needs to be doing something else.

MendocinoMamma
Guest
MendocinoMamma
6 years ago

No you misread… the time to grow. It counts as invested time. She is the Farmer, a farmers time is money too not just her worker’s. Had trimmers at flat rate $150 pound. If you can trim over a pound an hour you are.A…trimming king Kong buds…B using a scwag machine..C overstating or D all of the above.
I am thinking D folks. SIGH

Work smarter not harder
Guest
Work smarter not harder
6 years ago
Reply to  MendocinoMamma

No i didn’t. Your said farmer is Turtle slow and probably grows s*** weed Psy

MendocinoMamma
Guest
MendocinoMamma
6 years ago

That is absolutely not what I said sorry you can not understand the logistics. I will lay it out another way…
How many hours is is from seed to harvest???
Varies but minimally 6 months if you tend your 25 plant garden say 3 hours a day. 3×7=21 hours a week correct? Okay then 4 weeks in a month…84 hours. (Many folks spend much MORE time in the feild) then times 6=504 hours at 20 an hour is…10080 dollars. The math is fairly straight forward The client I menrioned did not always crunch numbers in the golden years but was now seeing the declines WSNH. Many folks need help again more costs. Trimming going down to $50 per # in conjunction with decreased unit prices. Hourly around $10.
The other thing is the housing market like some of the other posters have mentioned. It is definitely a dynamic that is going to change I have been too MANY that means more than 10 houses that had the finest of everything granite countertops marble steam rooms, imported eucalyptus flooring, Japanese stained glass windows. just freaking ridiculous mansions in the hills unpermitted of course there’s going to be a lot of them abandoned. I know of one that the previous owner sunk about 800k into the place and then wound up having some health issues he had to move to away and left meanwhile the house he poured almost a million dollars into over the years had everything destroyed by the pitbulls of the next owners. Gouges in the walls holes chewed in the doors The floors just destroyed. It is a huge picture. Much more than is acknowledged.

MendocinoMamma
Guest
MendocinoMamma
6 years ago
Reply to  MendocinoMamma

Or how about the one where the guy spent almost a million dollars building the place. Very nice place all the bells and whistles down to the copper sinks. But then he got pissed off at the wife in the divorce proceedings. He took his escavator and smashed the entire place into the ground.
Or the place that it’s just a shell on the outside of it. Magnificent… it looks like a Colonial Spanish mansion. Rough swirled stucco with beautiful light fixtures, and tinted concrete. Huge magnificent wooden window frames, awesome metal sculptured roof, copper chain downspouts with bells. Stone chimney Carriage style front and garage doors. The inside is a gigantic grow now abandoned because they weren’t making a profit anymore the rats have since moved in.
Or the place where the owner’s departered on a tropical vacation for two and a half months and a pipe burst warping all of the Oak hardwood flooring on the first and second floors. Plus creating black mold creeping up the sheetrock the wife was very upset and would not move back into the home. So they simply built another one very much like it right up the hill. The abandoned structure of the other home is used as storage and you guessed it an indoor grow.

not sure
Guest
not sure
6 years ago
Reply to  MendocinoMamma

I’m not clear on the math either…1500 wages for trimmers +350 fertilizer+200 hours @ 20 per hour (4000, not 6000)= 5850.00. Ten pounds at 700 each =7000.00, minus her expenses, she should’ve made 1150.00.

Work smarter not harder
Guest
Work smarter not harder
6 years ago
Reply to  not sure

And a 25 (25!!) Plant garden requires nowhere near 3hr day unless you are lazy and or inept. Hot shots around here take care of 2500 plants in 3 hr a day lol . And turn it at top dollar… $600/# ??? haha get a grip . Go big or go home.

(Not that) guest
Guest
(Not that) guest
6 years ago

This thread of cost analysis should be bookmarked so we can all refer back to it when pot growers call themselves “farmers.” I’ve never met a farmer working a meager 3 hours a day to reap a $500/lb crop. Boy, reality is about to hit hard. I think there’s a big difference between people who had regular jobs, then came to this life, versus the next generation who knows nothing else. They have no idea about earning money as most Americans know it, but they’re about to. It’s also why the back to landers were way more active in their community, helping neighbors, starting businesses, non-profits and radio stations, etc…they understood how damn lucky they were to have that kind of easy money and many more than now sought to give back and enrich the area that gave them that ability. Now it’s all about luxury and greed and self. I feel dumb I didn’t realize it would develop into this but I’m sure glad I chose a path of hard work and a legal profession or I’d have an empty resume at 40 like countless here do. Good luck, surely you’ll need it if you’re used to “working” 3 hours a day for half a year.

Kiki
Guest
Kiki
6 years ago

Interesting perspective! I love the comment at the beginning of the article “Unlike some of the “old timers” some of us “younger” folks (under 50) got an education, traveled and realized that this area is very unique. An intricate weaving of hillbilly and hippy. An area fueled completely by cannabis. I have been to, and grown, in many other rural areas in this state and let me tell you all…there is no place like home.” Funny, as an “old timer” of 66, when we moved here my husband had become a dentist and I a hygienist My closest neighbors consisted of 3 teachers, an engineer, a contractor, a writer, a business owner and a business manager. Many of them had traveled throughout the world and, yes, they realized the uniqueness of this area and are the “hippies” who intricately weaved in with the “hillbillies” who already lived here. We newcomers also were resented for coming in and trying to change the dynamics of the community The difference then was that these “hippies” were not moving to the country to grow cannabis, they were looking for a more natural way of life than the big cities offered, so they listened to what the locals had to offer. They wanted to build their own alternative homes not allowed elsewhere, grow their own food, and live with the animals, not kill them because they damaged the crop After all, we invaded their homes, not the other way around.. The cannabis market grew out of these resourceful people trying to find ways to make an income while pursuing a way of life compatible with the environment, this is not what I see in the greenrush of today.
As for thanking the growers for the local stores, that seems misplaced. It was the hard working locals willing to work their tails off for little profit to make a living which provided those stores, just as it is today. If I recall, there were two grocery stores in Garberville and one in Redway at the time and they would order you most things they didn’t carry. We had a Sears outlet that delivered to town and everybody built their homestead through them. And what we couldn’t get, people created co-ops to purchase in bulk. Oh yes, we also had a wonderful hospital with great doctors and nurses whom everybody knew well.
This community survived before cannabis and will survive after because people are resilient. Those remaining after the greenrush bust will pick up the pieces and go on with their lives. We only hope that what is left is salvageable..

Just my opinion
Guest
Just my opinion
6 years ago
Reply to  Kiki

I agree with you that all of these things existed before cannabis, but so did some sort of local economy and supporting industry or industries…why is this so hard to understand. I never said it was desolate and without community.

But everything went belly up. When that economy failed another came along to support it. Cannabis.

The point is now…not then. What fuels our economy now? The old timers i refer to are from here and hate cannabis, not wealthy transplants that bought up cheap land as the other industries crumbled. Thats a totally different viewpoint. Rich hill folk versus real hill folk. Its easy to see the glamour when you had a career. Many lost theirs and there was a larger demographic of blue collar and low to middle class workers left with no viable income. So there was a hole that needed to be filled in the economy.

I wish i could’ve seen it in its glory but those days are unfortunately gone. What im trying to express is, that this part of California is at risk of losing its last chance for a viable economy to support itself. Its simple economics. Your educated so look at it truly objectively. Without bias can you honestly name another way for the north coast to generate a viable economy that supports tourism and construction and all the stuff that makes a community thrive? Other than exploitation of natural resources and seasonal tourism, what is there?

On another note. You forget the hippies grew pot to pay bills too. Then they sold pot to their pals in SF and LA. Then their pals came too…thats how the cannabis industry “grew”.

Kill the animals? Half of todays pot growers are veg heads, myself included because we don’t believe in killing. Some are bad some are good. Its like any other business.

Stay Tuned
Guest
Stay Tuned
6 years ago

What do you have against ranchers? In your ignorance about just about everything you’ve written about , you are unaware that many cattle ranches in Humboldt have put in for permits.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
It sounds like you are pushing for the gentrification of Humboldt. Not going to happen, especially in the mostly rural areas.
What is going to happen is there will probably be around 1200 permitted grows. Law enforcement and Dept of Water Resources will catch up with all the unpermitted in a couple of years. Greenrushers that are only here to exploit Humboldt will slowly leave. Die hard black market growers will go hidden indoor and outdoor in the bushes.
The cards will fall where they do. Quit worrying about it. Sounds like you have a dream for Humboldt that is not going to materialize. Humboldt always has been funky and it will stay that way, this isn’t the Bay Area. You like things that way, move there. Quit obsessing over ” Cattle Barons”. That just sounds silly as hell.

Just my opinion
Guest
Just my opinion
6 years ago
Reply to  Stay Tuned

Wow you really took out of that only what suited you. Humboldt funky huh? Good luck when the only ones left are tweekers and old rich people. See how the cards fall then.

Obsessing over cattle barons? Expand your knowledge and read a book. Go visit other rural communities. Do some damn research. See what its like when there is no money but big money and everyone else works for them.

You must of missed the part where its about sustaining life as we know it not regression into poverty,

Bay area? Who ever said anything like that. I talk of how fortunate we are here for our “funky” little community and all it has to offer. How did you misunderstand the entire context of the letter? Either by anger or inability to comprehend written discourse?

You just wanted to argue. This aint about local cattle guys. This is about the real players. Big players that have more money invested in pipe fencing than most peoples properties are worth. The kind of money that can buy and sell little towns like this and if given the window will influence counties with big bucks. Bigger than pot money.

All im saying is lets make this work collectively or risk getting told how to live. Thats it. And to appreciate how unique of an area this is, that with being rural theres also community. Thats not so common as you think nowadays. Most other rural communities are desolate, poor and with little to no services or schools or hospitals for miles and miles. Im sure someone knows of a few that thrive but for the most part they’re barely making it in the real California economy.

Thinking allowed
Guest
Thinking allowed
6 years ago

Cattle operations- by which I think you mean feed lots like Harris’s, are not ranchers and are not suitable for ‘hill country”. And neither is pipe corral. Cattle here, outside of Ferndale and along the bottoms, are scattered cattle rotated through grass and sold off when the grass gets goes dormant.

There are some large ranches and most are incorporated as a matter of survival. Greedy government and others eye them like a fox does a chicken. They incorporate to protect themselves. But to equate them with corporate America is the same as equating the touted ‘mom and pop growers’ with the largest diesel powered mega grows.

Stay Tuned
Guest
Stay Tuned
6 years ago

Please. If you think everyone is going to get together and plot out the direction you think things should go, good luck with that. Just as we had no control over the green rush and where it brought us, we won’t have control of what the aftermath will be.
I’ve been in rural Humboldt for almost 50 years now. Trying to get everyone to agree and act is like herding cats around here.
You are never going to uproot or change the ranching industry in Humboldt. That you chose to rail on them is ridiculous.
Go ahead, knock yourself out. Lots of luck, you’ll need it.
If you’ve been in the hills surviving like I have for as long as I have, you would know that this is not ‘ Bye, Bye Hillfolk’. Were survivors, not wimps. So you go ahead and run around like chicken-little and I’ll kick back and live like I have for the past 50 years.

Trillium Hummingbird
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Trillium Hummingbird
6 years ago
Reply to  Stay Tuned

Hello life, goodbye Smuffy Smiff and Louisey…

Juddybuddy
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Juddybuddy
6 years ago

All you people are just to darn nice to each other. Grow up. It’s cool to be kind. Thanks kym. Your the best. News is great. Comments are always tough to read. Try not to. Thank you firefighters. Thank you kind people.

Juddybuddy
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Juddybuddy
6 years ago

I agree..everyone sure is angry about something in life. My momma always say. ” it’s okay to be mad, but you can’t be bad.” Pull up your pants, quit crying.

Ben
Guest
Ben
6 years ago

A good string.. No large corporation is going to grow at the end of a dirt road, period.. Dispensary days will end along with the huge grows they support.. The local non profits need to develop plans for reduced income.. Few will have the wisdom to do that.. KMUD is already in trouble.. Oddly, so is the Senior Center.. The only solution is to plan to reduce staff.. Festivals will continue to be a good source of income.. Timber will continue as a sorce of income as will tourism.. Air B&Bs could be profitable.. None of this will solve the transient issue or the drug issue or the homeless issue.. The County needs to plan for a drop in permit revenues rather than their current enthusiasm.. Rentals might become more available and the price may drop.. It will certainly be a very different economy before many years go by..

Thebigdeal
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Thebigdeal
6 years ago
Reply to  Ben

You make some good points. But not festivals. They are not making money and have probably ran their coarse. A smaller community with resoarse based industries and seasonal tourism is what so.hum will become. Good thing the hospital tax didnt pass. Just not needed for our future

Shel
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Shel
6 years ago
Reply to  Thebigdeal

Make the Humboldt bay profitable in that make it cruise ship accessible. Clean up the place from derelict buildings, peoples, attitudes. People pay out the wazoo to go to places like Burning Man. Eureka has some seeds in which to plant if ppl could just get over themselves and their attitudes. People as seen by these comments and consumerism are nostalgic for the past! People want to escape and pay $ for vacations, movie tickets, drugs, alcohol, big theatre tvs … all which are a type of escape into fantasy. Humboldt Co is a perfect place to start seeding those types of fantasy dream places come true. I am not saying build another Disney land but we have a unique and natural place that could be enhanced for tourism but there has to be clean up and put up ($).

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
6 years ago

“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!!!

I’ve heard that before about the cannabis business. And yes, while there may be some ‘dark clouds’ coming in, the business may prove more resilient than you/we know. There are a lot of smart people here!

If any part of the cannabis businesses will be hurt from the ‘industrial mega grows’ (see: boogie man of the year) it will be the people that are rushing now to buy land and set up farm operations in other parts of the state. They have no identity like HUMBOLDT has.

Local growers (again, lots of smart cookies out there, and not referring to Girl Scout Cookie 😉 are and will more in the future, band together to promote the HUMBOLDT brand! And, who knows, maybe it will cause many of the small, rural ‘alternative’ communities in the ET to come (back) together (to grow and market cooperatively, etc), which, as one who has lived through those early days here (1970’s and into the 80’s were amazing here!), would be a WELCOME shift ‘back to our roots’.

Steve
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Steve
6 years ago

I think it’s really odd that the comments I made didn’t post. I know you moderate, but I wasn’t aware you dictate. My comments were not offensive in any manner. It’s pointless to have a comments section if you cherry pick what suits your site. Glad I know now. I will spread the word so people don’t waste their time.

thebigdeal
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thebigdeal
6 years ago

That all sounds great and I agree that there are many smart people here and our way of life is unique. However, please explain how to survive when a price of dep weed falls below $500lb. Don’t forget about taxes ect. Large agriculture producers consider 10% profit to be good. Some will probably survive but young people would be making a big mistake to stick around here.

hmm
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hmm
6 years ago

The market is not predictable. The world’s best economist have about a 50% accuracy when making large scale long-term predictions. Economics is not a science.

However, it is difficult to see how our county’s number one source of revenue will be replaced. The maximum size of legal grows should have been limited to a size that would curtail big ag interest.

hmm
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hmm
6 years ago

My guess is that our county will become desolate. Populated seasonally by those who work in the park service.

Elise
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Elise
6 years ago

The comments here are very nuanced and interesting. Humboldt still has a lot going for it as an internationally-recognized “brand name” and tourism will be the way to retain some of the lifestyles previously enjoyed. Napa makes more money on tourism than wine. New projects are underway to regulate the appellations so that products labeled as “grown in Humboldt” will be required to prove it, and organizations like Flow Kana are working to organize small farmers to compete against larger corporate interests. There will be big changes, no doubt, but the community can prevail by acting to develop legal weed tourism in the region.

Also, as others have mentioned, homelessness is epidemic everywhere, including LA and Santa Cruz, heck, pretty much everywhere as rent soars and social services / mental health services are hard to come by. As automation claims many jobs and cities become unaffordable, more people will be looking to live in the country.

Redwoodguy
Guest
Redwoodguy
6 years ago

Reading these comments has been really interesting. Nice to see a bunch of people who have something to say do it in a polite way. So, I add my 2 cents worth…

On a rainy night in 1970 I was headed north on 101. I picked up two hitch hikers who told me of the great deal on land they were getting in a place called “The Matole”. As I drove through the storm they talked of plans, of leaving the city behind and “getting back to the land”. They urged me to join them, which I didn’t, but as the years rolled by I’ve imagined those peoples’ lives. How long before they discovered that a little cash money makes life a lot easier? How many plants that first year? The next? If they never grew big, you can be sure their children did, and probably still do, or maybe will until it’s no longer profitable, which from the sound of things may be soon. Maybe after the dust settles there will be a new wave of people who just want to live a simple life. There will be life after the Cannabis crash. One thing certain – it isn’t healthy to have your neighborhood overrun by a bunch of people who only see money instead of a place to live and grow old peacefully. Once again, there will be life after the crash, a good life for those who want to live in the middle of nowhere with few services and few sources of ready but lots of peace, quiet, and nature. Here’s to those ready for the good life!

Shel
Guest
Shel
6 years ago
Reply to  Redwoodguy

I think you came upon something that gives the cannabis industry a bad name: the greed and crime. I live in a working class neighborhood. I have a trimagrent flop house next door. They are the worse neighbors as they come into town at all hours and trash the neighborhood. They are noisy, rude and obnouix and worse is their aggressive dogs they don’t control. There is trash all over and they have no respect for anyone or anything because they are just passing through. You try to talk with them and it becomes your problem/issues as you are not with it/ old school/ not what ever excuse they want to give you about YOUR short comings (because they are *free* of issues/problems). Then you have the growers that are even worse than the rabid dogs. They are the ones with the pot dozers that are running over pets, speeding down small country roads, knocking other drivers/walkers /hikers/ bicyclist off the roads and sometimes even striking innocent people. They are driving unsafely, raging and polluting the air with their diesel rigs at all hours of the day and night. Have you watched them ‘puff’ people with their rigs when they are unhappy?! Their kids are little snots that think the rules don’t apply to them, they think you can’t touch them because “daddy is a pot grower with lots of money mentality”; they are out causing problems because there are no consequences. These are just a few of the problems that people have with that canniculture. It is taking on a greed / user mentality that resembles NPD. Yes, it takes all types across the board. But what I am saying is that the bad apples are the poster children that society that the world sees. These are the people that make non /anti cannabis ppl angry as it is all they are seeing of this industry/ lifestyle. If we are going to make it truly community with a capital C ,there has to be some dialogue and those that are new comers just need to be a little humble to start that dialogue off on the right foot and find out what they have in common and what goals they might share. Why the newcomers first? Because its a nice tradition of manners and etiquette that seems to be lacking … you move into someplace new and want to ‘change thing’ you need to do it in a way that doesn’t piss ppl off … sort of a respect your elders thing. Yes, old school ways can still work wonders! And newcomers can go ‘respect is earn, not given’ … bingo! its a two way street. Remember the adage: honey works a lot better than vinegar, just saying. I’m not saying go grovel. I am saying start being a good neighbor that is truly committed to the community at large. Donate your time and money outside the canni-culture without needing the adoration, acknowledgement and praise. So I totally agree, dreaming of a world filled with wonderful helpful people, doing things together as a thriving community with a common goal that does not involve the greed and attitudes.

The Manager
Guest
The Manager
6 years ago

Fuck that jazz.
Keep on growing

Wildmtnhoney
Guest
Wildmtnhoney
6 years ago

Very well said and about time someone spoke up, this is something that has been going on for years its not like it just happened yesterday, this product for years has financially kept many a business going, I loved this artical Kym and loved reading all the comments, I myself am all for it, I also look strongly to the medicinal use and am thankful there is an herbal alternative, so thank you to all you beautiful hippy-hillbilly farmers, this wildmtnhoney is in less pain and lovin’ it..speaking of its time to burn one, so again thank you god bless and good luck you’ve got my vote..oh p.s. beautiful photo shots Kym and have an awesome day.! I so miss Humboldt co.

Wildmtnhoney
Guest
Wildmtnhoney
6 years ago

Dang it I can’t help myself it’s like I’d like to throw a few things out there to comments and questions, I’m kind of in one of those moods or maybe I’m just having one of those blonde moments, but with a sense of humor so bear/bare with me…
For one am against legalizing cannabis but only because just like everything else the government will take it over and control it, tax it, just as ranchers lets say grow livestock, that’s what you do for a living and I’m positive you are very strict in how they are raised to be good enough for the market, well fed, lots of water, exercise, health check ups, and the care of and hard work you put into it and no chemicals all natural beef, people love their meat and I’m sure you have special buyers you don’t just sell it on the local street corner–
We also have our produce growers and herbal gardners of all kinds they treat their gardens just like you raise your cattle, the real gardners like farmers know the difference between use and abuse, no chemicals just organic, I have friends that grow but don’t smoke it and even though its their income they have a limit and its distributed strictly for medical research, taken to a dispensary and used not abused for pain relief and other health issues, cannibanoid CBD I have witnessed little kids and adults no longer having 10 to 20 seizures a day and going for weeks without having any, way better the pills or medications filled with chemicals, so cattle like cannabis
It serves a purpose, we all know there are those on both sides that just gotta ruin it for everyone else, I’d rather see my own family and friends smoke then see them drink or do hard drugs, which needs to be taken more importantly then anything, seriously I could see everyone upset if the cattle got out and ate the herb garden cause you’d all lose out financially, cannabis helps in giving that craving to eat, we could all just get along and work with each other, as long as no one is getting hurt, so in closing we should smoke a piece pipe and have a hell of a bbq..just sayin, no hard feelings

Thinking allowed
Guest
Thinking allowed
6 years ago

When I see pot advocates, of any kind, large or small, express concern for their neighbors or the environment to the extent of acknowledging the problems they make for others AND offering some solutions or at least acknowledgement that are respectful, I might believe that coexistence is possible.

What is evidenced, both here and in the real world, is that any mention of a negativity in world of pot gets either a series of four letter insults that are painfully ill advised or a defensive attack that is all about themselves. It is frightening how pot puts a curtain around its user’s and grower’s thinking so that all they ever talk about is themselves.

It is immaterial whether prehistoric peoples used pot as a medicine. Nor that some people have medical problems believe pot is helpful. Unless you consider life to be a disease needing medicating, pot’s major use and profitability now is as a recreational drug. It is immaterial whether there is a similarity between farmers and pot growers- if you use all the water or pollute it, depriving your neighbors, you are deserving of hostility. It is irrelevant whether pot and pot growers can point to some other source of problems elsewhere- the problems they create are here and now. Same thing with illegality- even if the rules are to change next year, it is illegal now and has decades of illegality as its inheritance. It lives in a world of murder, mayhem and, because there are problems outside of it, does not excuse its problems. There is little reason to believe in the sudden reformation into good citizenship. Especially in looking at the almost universal excessive hostility when anyone mentions that being even minimally respectful of laws is a pretty basic requirement of good citizenship. Or at least somewhat civil at minimum.

Why write this stuff when getting through a haze of pot is next to impossible? The same reason that one tries to get through to drunks before they get in the car to drive. They may swear up and down they are fine but if enough people around them act knowing they aren’t, some of the harm they do may be prevented. It is not for the sake of the drunk that these things are done.

In simple words, I’ll believe when I see it. So you want to be a good neighbor? Then simply saying you are, or were til the new nasties arrived,won’t cut it. Dismissing every complaint or issue surrounding pot use and growing, especially in the nastiest ways. Refusing to talk rationally about its negative aspects is proof you are fixed in denial.

Stop using my drinking water to grow your profits just because you are up stream and can. Stop driving while impaired- you are not as sober as you think you are. And stop living in the fantasy that Pot is God and its use perfect in all aspects.

Trillium Hummingbird
Guest
Trillium Hummingbird
6 years ago

I do like the way you think! Great comments, and I agree that life is not a condition requiring medication.

Life, is actually a sexually transmitted condition with a terminal outcome.

Medication may be perceived as being indicated, but in application, usually results from some sort of desire for escape.

Being exposed to the raft of excuses typically exercised for nearly everything in Humboldt, is tiresome, only faintly amusing, and becomes difficult not to attack, with time.

Rational thought requires rational persons, who often seem to be absent in places like these…

Hobo Carpenter
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Hobo Carpenter
6 years ago

All of the SoHum growers I know are well-reasoned and fair-minded non-polluters who actively engage in the community. The growers who comment on Kym’s site are(mostly) good neighbors. I hear lots of talk about polluting gangsters, but I dont see them around here. I know they exist and they should be shut down and run out. But bad apples should not be used to demonize the whole industry.
Homeless drug addicts in rural areas and small towns are a growing nationwide issue. Blaming pot is incorrect silliness.

Save the Trees
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Save the Trees
6 years ago

Goodbye greedy growers and environmental scourge. Hello peace and quiet. Can’t wait for it to be over.

Juddybuddy
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Juddybuddy
6 years ago

Why would anyone give free advice…everyone on here who posts are clowns..including me. Kym rocks. Clown be clones…haha. all of u r jokes.