Interview with a Northern CA marijuana grower

GreenMoon interview conducted on 1/21/01

I just dug this one out of the vaults. Thought you all might enjoy reading it.

On January 21 2001 GreenMoon traveled to Northern CA to the Emerald Triangle to interview a successful marijuana grower whose identity will remain anonymous. We were brought up through narrow winding dirt roads to a land where neighbors are miles apart and the scenery is that of tree covered hills and mountain ranges. The people here power their homes with generators, solar, wind, and hydro and they either cut trees or grow marijuana.

What are the main businesses here (Emerald Triangle CA, Trinity/ Mendocino / Humboldt Counties)?

Logging and Pot. Then there are many businesses that benefit from increased cash flow. Everybody uses cash. Certain suppliers (all equipment associated with growing marijuana) have become very wealthy up here.

Why is this land suited for Marijuana?

Remote, it’s very remote. The weather lends itself to out door growing, the summers are normally really hot and warm and the rough winter creates remoteness. Cops are not so ready to come out here when the weather is tough. The property is cheap. Someone can come up here with 50 grand and buy 30-40 acre lot. There are really only two industries, logging and pot. Then of course there are the many businesses that are suppliers to these businesses.

Heavily wooded areas lend themselves to concealed structures built and uses specifically for housing/hiding and growing marijuana. These serve to hide from aerial surveillance

How is Marijuana perceived here compared to the rest of the country?

People will even bury their containers underground in order to grow their pot. This avoids illegal thermal imaging, which the cops use anyway to discover marijuana growers. There have been two instances when a judge issued search warrants based on thermal imaging reports. It turned out that one case was a retired woman who had a propane fired potters kiln and they thought it was a grow scene. The other was a woodstove. Are these things illegal?

How does one hide their crop from the government?

Outdoors you can grow it in trees. One method of camouflage is to remove tree limbs between 10 O’clock and 2 O’clock to give the plant the most exposure to the sun but leaving aerial observation difficult.

Do the people here consider it a real and honorable business, even if they don’t have a license and are doing it illegally?

Yes most definitely. A lot of people don’t think it should be illegal or don’t think it is illegal so they live their lives to their beliefs. Remember, there is no state law that marijuana is illegal. It’s only enforced under the health and safety act. A lot of these guys don’t smoke it; they just grow it for business. To them it is a legitimate business. To me it’s a legitimate business.

How many here have licenses to grow marijuana legally?

Nobody has a license to grow. The law states that you only need an oral recommendation from your doctor. The people passed this but the law enforcement sees it a little differently. Some places like Arcata have their own system. In Arcata you go to the sheriff with a note from the doctor and he will look over it and then if he approves will basically give you a “get out of jail free” card. This instructs the cops to let you go on about your business. Similar programs have been adopted in Mendocino County. Humboldt County is looking at a health department base issuance involving reporting applicants to the Sheriffs department. I think there are only 5 people who actually are given marijuana joints by the government. Everyone else has to fend for him or herself.

What measures does the government take to seek out and destroy your business?

Aerial surveillance, Thermal Imaging, a technique called “Stabo” which involves the lowering of enforcement agents by 250 to 350 foot long steel cables beneath a helicopter thus enabling them to view under the tree canopy. It’s a loophole because the helicopter is not allowed by FAA regulations to go under 500 feet so this is how they are able to beat their own rules. They have been so close that I have seen their teeth, smiling, and even waving at me.

Traffic stops involving illegal roadside searches. The cops are trained to use deceptive methods of questioning/interrogation to trick you into giving them permission to search your vehicle or person. We have bumper stickers up here that read, “permission to search, DENIED!” another popular one is “I don’t fear my country, I fear my government!”

Another investigative technique is to go to the suppliers. For example they will go to the guys who sell generators and find out who has bought generators for cash. They have gone to the diesel suppliers to find out who has bought more then a reasonable amount of fuel. There is an instance where they went to a Fortuna car dealership with the support of the IRS to find out how many people and who bought cars/pickup trucks with a large cash deposit. They held mechanics, car sales people, and secretaries and parts staff for 2-3 hours without access to phone calls or the outside legal advice. This was at a big Ford dealership and now there is a sign on the door, “NO COPS”.

How is your harvest distributed to the rest of the state? The Country?

Buyers will travel up here. There is one guy who comes from Hollywood and buys 30 pounds every month. We have a contract. There is also a “Mexican Mafia” connection, police statistics determine that 80% of marijuana grown and sold in California was in some way involved with the Mexican underworld. There are rumors that top musicians travel through the area primarily to stock up on Humboldt bud, known as the best in the USA. There are also brokers who arrange sales and work on commission. There isn’t much street level growth here. There are many other ways to get product to market that we wont discuss due to the continued harassment of fellow growers by law enforcement.

How much of a harvest is for medical and how much is for recreation?

The medical side of it is increasing but depends mainly on the states position on “pot clubs” distributing and buying medicinal marijuana. It is possible to obtain street price from some clubs, thus removing the criminal element and decreasing the need for law enforcement and harassment of medical users. Until that is decided the majority is still grown for recreational use.

What would happen if the marijuana business became obsolete?

It would be the death blow to all these area’s up here, what with the already greatly reduced staffing levels being implemented by the logging industries. Most businesses in the area would close due to the fact that marijuana related products (generators, diesel, waterlines, potting soil, grow juice, wood, fertilizers etc.) wouldn’t be in demand. A lot of individuals have become extremely rich due to the support industry. They have made a lot of money because of marijuana even though they haven’t done anything illegal, but believe me they know where their money comes from.

Would legalization of marijuana hurt the Emerald Triangle business?

No it would help it. It’s like a fine wine. People want the best and we have the best.

End

Marijuana Links

http://www.civilliberties.org/marijuana.html The public’s watchdog of marijuana enforcement operations in Humboldt County

http://www.marijuana.org/researchpage.html Marijuana facts galore

http://www.freecannabis.org/benefits.htm Environmental benefits of marijuana

http://www.marijuananews.com/the_cannabis_problem.htm Marijuana news

http://www.larouchecampaign.com/pages/bush_dope_8.html The Larouche campaign gets angry at Bush by telling the dirt on our new president

http://www.cannabisnews.com Informing the public about cannabis