Global Ganja Report

Cannabis may be legal in California, but illicit cultivation persists—especially in the National Forests, where it often takes a grave ecological toll. The CROP Project—for Cannabis Removal On Public Lands—is now bringing together environmentalists, law enforcement and the legal cannabis industry for a coordinated approach to the problem.

California is moving toward adopting official "appellations" for cannabis, certifying a strain's regional origin. The concept is inspired by the wine industry, where such a certification system has long been in place in several producer countries. Wine appellations, often a mark of prestige, provide a model for what is now to be applied to high-end cannabis.

The arrest of three, including two Bulgarian immigrants, in what is being billed as a "kidnapping" plot against a Humboldt County cannabis grower has shocked the Emerald Triangle. With the accused allegedly seeking to scapegoat "Mexicans" in the caper, the case crystalizes the xenophobic stigma attaching to Northern California's cannabis economy—even now.

Sacramento is preparing to unleash the National Guard on small illegal growers in the Emerald Triangle just as it is pushing the "Twin Tunnels" project to facilitate water diversions to Central Valley ag-biz—which is increasingly growing cannabis. Small growers face punitive measures for irresponsible practices while big growers stand to gain from official water diversions that may be ultimately far more irresponsible.

A verdict against glyphosate producer Monsanto in a case brought by a cancer sufferer has brought world attention to the dangers of pesticides and herbicides. This is a question with implications already felt in the cannabis industry—both legal and illegal.

Recent years have seen ethnic tensions in the northernmost parts of the Emerald Triangle, as Hmong growers—immigrants from the Southeast Asian nation of Laos—have established themselves in local cannabis cultivation. This has led to civil rights litigation and a polarized atmosphere in Siskiyou County. But just to the south in Trinity County, a group is working to head off tensions by helping Hmong growers negotiate the transition to licensed cultivation.

Compassionate care—providing medical marijuana to the ill—was what first opened legal space for cannabis in California a generation ago. But the state's Adult Use of Marijuana Act only regulates commercial businesses—leaving caregivers in legal limbo.

In Humboldt County, famed as the heartland of Northern California's cannabis-producing Emerald Triangle, big police raids of cultivation sites—with thousands of plants eradicated—are continuing despite the Golden State's new legalization program. Many growers are choosing to remain underground, in spite of the risks to their property and freedom. And a big part of the reason why seems to lie in a confusing and contested county regulation regime.