Fertilizer magnates have had a presence in Humboldt County for more than a decade, but other industries ancillary to The Industry are also beginning to bud and flower. Creatives and brand managers are also carving out a niche in the open space between societal acceptance and federal endorsement, finding new and clever ways to sell […]
The Week in Weed
Posted inLetters + Opinion
CBDs Go There. Down There
Every drug, yes, every drug, from alcohol as a rudimentary anesthetic to methamphetamine as a weight loss supplement, has medicinal applications. Cannabis retains a strange space in our medical landscape: Centuries of anecdote reinforce its therapeutic worth, yet in the United States it’s still federally classified as having no medical value. Because of its legal […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
A Proxy War
A Harper’s Magazine writer recently reiterated a stomach-turning admission of racist societal control concocted by the Nixon Administration. That scandal plagued presidency was the first to declare war on drugs, and did so squarely in the midst of social and racial upheaval, as well as a foreign war. In a recent article arguing in favor […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Piecemeal Nullification, Dude
In what can only be considered a decisive win for marijuana enthusiasts, the United States Supreme Court this week struck down a challenge of Colorado’s recreational use law. Attempting to leverage a provision that allows the SCOTUS to mitigate disputes between states, Oklahoma and Nebraska filed a joint suit directly with the nation’s highest court […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Drug Mules and Dogs
My cousin’s mule, Festus, was Humboldt County’s most wanted creature on four legs in the summer of 1995. For Festus had eaten close to $60,000 in outdoor cannabis, and a neighbor was prepared to shoot him on sight. So he was dispatched several ridges away to my family’s ranch, where he would finish his days […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Not Feelin’ the Bern
Marijuana advocates are not donating money to presidential campaigns at anywhere near the level of other causes, according to a recent International Business Times report. The article starts by detailing how little marijuana groups have donated to Bernie Sanders — who’s advocated for legalization on the campaign trail — compared to Rand Paul, the one-time […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
History
A small crowd clustered at the top of the stairs of the Humboldt County Planning Department on the morning of Feb. 26, waiting for the doors to open. In their hands, they clutched land use permit applications for medical marijuana cultivation. “We’ve been gearing up all week for a big day,” said interim Planning Director […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Roughing the (Joint) Passer
Two football players lost their positions on their team rosters after being busted with weed. University of Kentucky linebacker Jason Hatcher had a pound of weed on him when he was pulled over for speeding on Feb. 22, cops say. The college later announced his dismissal from the roster for breaking team rules. According to […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Sign up, Pay up
It wouldn’t exactly be accurate to say Humboldt County marijuana growers are rushing into compliance. But Humboldtians put their neighbors to shame, out-enrolling other Northern California counties in the state Water Board’s marijuana compliance program. As the Times-Standard reports, the deadline to enroll in the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Cannabis Cultivation Waste […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Let it Burn
So many hash labs are blowing up around these parts that Humboldt Bay Fire, which services the greater Eureka area, recently declared it won’t go into the burning aftermath of the explosions. The new policy comes on the heels of several hash lab fires in the area, the most recent of which (on Jan. 20) […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
What Deadline?
A University of California San Francisco think tank released a study based on proposed marijuana legalization ballot measures that warns of a corporate takeover of the marijuana industry that could have negative public health effects. The report, which comes from the university’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, says legalization — the most prominent […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Thirst
Cheers and applause from a standing-room-only audience filled the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors chambers on Jan. 22 when the board voted unanimously to adopt an outdoor medical marijuana land use ordinance. The ordinance — the culmination of a fast-paced review process by the board, county staff and the planning commission begun in September — […]