ILLEGAL GROWERS FEAR LEGALIZED POT

California | November Initiative Could Lead to Lost Income in Humboldt County

REDWAY, Calif. -- The smell of pot hung heavy in the air as men with
dreadlocks and gray beards contemplated a nightmarish possibility in
this legendary region of outlaw marijuana growers: legal weed.

If California legalizes marijuana, they say, it will drive down the
price of their crop and damage not just their livelihoods but the
entire economy along the state's rugged northern coast.

"The legalization of marijuana will be the single most devastating
economic event in the long boom-and-bust history of Northern
California," said Anna Hamilton, 62, a Humboldt County radio host and
musician who said her involvement with marijuana has mostly been
limited to smoking it for the past 40 years.

Local residents are so worried that pot farmers came together with
officials in Humboldt County for a standing-room-only meeting Tuesday
night where civic leaders, activists and growers brainstormed ideas
for dealing with the threat. Among the ideas: turning the vast pot
gardens of Humboldt County into a destination for marijuana
aficionados, with tours and tastings -- a sort of Napa Valley of pot.

Many were also enthusiastic about promoting the Humboldt brand of
pot. Some discussed forming a cooperative that would enforce high
standards for marijuana and stamp the county's finest weed with an
official Humboldt seal of approval.

Pot growers are nervous because a measure that could make California
the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use will
appear on the ballot in November. State officials certified Wednesday
that the initiative got enough signatures.

The law, if approved, could have a profound effect on Humboldt
County, which has long had a reputation for growing some of the
world's best weed.

In recent years, law enforcement agents have seized millions of pot
plants worth billions of dollars in Humboldt and neighboring
counties. And that is believed to be only a fraction of the crop.

"We've lived with the name association for 30 or 40 years and
considered it an embarrassment," said Mark Lovelace, a Humboldt
County supervisor. But if legalization does happen, he said, the
Humboldt County name becomes the region's single most important asset.

"It's laughable at this point to try to be hush-hush about it," he said.

Humboldt County's reputation as a marijuana mecca began in the 1970s.
As pot users began to notice a decline in the quality of Mexican
weed, refugees from San Francisco's Summer of Love who moved to the
forested mountains along California's conveniently remote North Coast
began figuring out better ways to grow their own. The Humboldt name
soon became a selling point for marijuana sold on street corners
across the country.

These days, the small towns in this region about five hours north of
San Francisco are dotted with head shops and garden supply stores.

California is one of 14 states that allow people to grow and use
marijuana for medical purposes, but recreational use remains illegal.
(And will remain illegal under federal law, regardless of how
California votes.)

For decades, the outlaws, rebels and aging hippies of Humboldt County
have been hoping for legalization. But now that it appears at hand,
many clandestine growers fear it will flood the market with cheap,
corporate-grown weed and destroy their way of life.

About 20 pot growers gathered on a patio outside the meeting Tuesday
to discuss the dilemma posed by legalized pot. Many wore baseball
caps and jeans, just like farmers anywhere else in America. No one
addressed anyone else by name, a local custom driven by fear of
arrest, but that didn't stop some in the group from lighting up their crop.

Many complained that legalization would put them in the same bind as
other small farmers struggling to compete against large-scale agribusinesses.

A dreadlocked younger grower who said he had already been to prison
for marijuana objected that no one could replicate the quality of the
region's weed. When he was a kid, he said, "Humboldt nuggets -- that
was like the holy grail."

"Anyone can grow marijuana," he said. "But not everyone can grow the
super-heavies, the holy bud."

Under the ballot measure, Californians could possess up to one ounce
of marijuana for personal use. They could cultivate gardens up to 25
square feet, which is puny by Humboldt County standards. City and
county governments would have the power to tax pot sales.

Some growers Tuesday fantasized about mobs of tourists in limos
streaming to the county. Others were not thrilled with the idea of
paying taxes on their crop.

Many agreed with the sentiment on a sticker plastered on a pizza
joint's cash register: "Save Humboldt County -- keep pot illegal."

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BALLOT MEASURE

Use: California is one of 14 states that allows people to grow and
use marijuana for medical purposes, but recreational use remains
illegal. (And will remain illegal under federal law, regardless of
how California votes.)

Measure: Under the ballot measure, Californians could possess up to
one ounce of marijuana for personal use. They could cultivate gardens
up to 25 square feet. City and county governments would have the
power to tax pot sales.

In Oregon: In 1973, Oregon became the first state in the nation to
decriminalize marijuana, making the sentence for possession of less
than an ounce akin to receiving a traffic ticket.