Some Believe Marijuana Industry is Off the Hook
Staff Report
Humboldt Sentinel
The Associated Press just released their story on Arcata’s burgeoning marijuana industry minutes ago.
Arcata Police Department Chief Tom Chapman, Councilmember Shane Brinton,
Arcata Eye’s Kevin Hoover, and Mark Sailors all got into the act with their
opinions of what is either right or wrong in the Arcata universe of cannabis
cultivation and Measure I– Arcata heavy use electrical utility tax.
In his article “Pot Town Pushes Back Against Industrial Growers” reporter Jeff Barnard had this to say:
“ARCATA, Calif. – Happily isolated on California’s remote Humboldt County coast, Arcata has long made room in its heart for marijuana, whether grown illegally in the back woods by refugees of the Summer of Love, or legally in the back rooms of homes by medical pot patients.
“But the mellow days are coming to an end. Even Arcata residents who support legalization of marijuana have become fed up with high-volume indoor growing operations that take over much-needed housing and take advantage of the state’s loosely written medical marijuana law.
“The neighbors of these clandestine pot farms– operated behind curtains, shutters and alarm systems– complain of the skunk-like stink of cannabis, fire hazards, rising rents, vicious guard dogs, caches of guns, illegal pesticides, roadside dumping of unwanted growing gear, and late-night visits from shady characters.
“Rather than throw more cops at the problem, the City Council is fighting back in a way befitting this liberal outpost that would rather be known for its pioneering community forest and sewage treatment marsh than marijuana…”
You can continue reading the rest of the story here.
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All the problems and all the perks of the changing North Coast paradise we call home.
Toto, this doesn’t look like Kansas anymore.
(Posted by Skippy Massey)
