To find Humboldt County look in Northern California. Find San Francisco and then travel 200 miles north. The two main towns are Arcata, a college town, and Eureka, the county seat. The county is closer to Oregon than to San Francisco.
The county has about 1.5 millions acres of forest land. It ranges from the beach to the tops of the Coast Mountains, which are quite high. It’s the big Redwood area in the state. 40% of the old growth left is found in Humboldt. Most of the old growth is protected.
The first Europeans to visit the area were the Spanish. They encountered many native groups that had been there for thousands of years. They were joined by Russians and Americans who wanted furs, especially sea otters. Later, Chinese came. Increased economic activity led to more people coming from all over. This was hard on the natives. Violence was not uncommon. There are now 8 reserves in the county for Indians.
Marijuana cultivation is the county’s biggest cash source. People with medical cards, or their caregivers, can grow 99 plants without breaking state law as a result of Prop 215. The cards are issued by doctors, and are easy to get. The story goes that Bay area hippies came to Humboldt decades ago and began the marijuana industry. That crop was exported to the rest of California and the US. It has become an important source of income for the economy. Growers are widely supported and radio stations will even announce police enforcement movements.
It’s hard to say how mush weed Humboldt County produces, but it’s a lot. It competes very well with BC bud, which is an industry in it’s own right. This level of activity brings some violence with it. It’s hard to say exactly how much, though. That money is not declared of course, so Humboldt appears as a very poor county officially.
Law enforcement is lax. Growers usually get off with probation instead of jail time. This is especially true of small growers or medicinal growers. There are environmental damages to consider as well, but these are just becoming an issue.
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