Tornado Alley (PROG)

[DesertDrifter]

to add to that topic and about Mendocino county regulations (i am not a resident of that county)... Mendocino county has indicated that it estimates the marijuana production accounts for 40% of the income in that county, due to the laissez faire attitude to enforcement, and regulations relaxed far beyond the state level.

One example is the obvious exportation of it. To avoid sending marijuana through the mail to out of state customers, which is a felony to send across state lines via the postal regulations... the growers use FedEx, which is a private company. It is no coincidence that the FedEx facility in Ukiah is one of the largest in the state. There is a really good special on the topic of how a local economy is based upon the trade that is aired frequently on MSNBC. i am not sure if the script is available online... but it is an eye opener.

In addition, the marijuana district of Oakland, which is called Oaksterdam because of its similarities to the Dutch model... actually has a college of marijuana cultivation, parallel to a viticulture school which is dedicated to the cultivation of grapes.

If and when prohibition ends in california, and it looks like it is on a trajectory to do so, it will be a temporary boon to agriculture until other states follow suit. And the illegal trade will be left to die on the vine, as the "bad guys" tend to be the gang traffickers.

The question is, what will be the effect on society?... and so far, the answer seems to be, not much. IMHO, alcohol is a much more sinister drug, and the historic effects of the american experiment in prohibition are well documented...