Pubdate: Thu, 3 Jul 2008 Source: Times-Standard (Eureka, CA) Copyright: 2008 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: http://www.times-standard.com/writealettertotheeditor Website: http://www.times-standard.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1051 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Humboldt+County Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California) U.S. OUT OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY? On the one hand it was nice to see federal authorities pay attention to crime here on the North Coast, so much so that they sent a team of hundreds to Humboldt County in order to put the hammer down on what they describe as commercial, for-profit, marijuana growing. It's no secret that Humboldt County's economy -- as the late Supervisor Roger Rodoni often pointed out -- is to some degree dependent on the marijuana culture for its economic viability. But such criminal activity, when conducted on a large, commercial scale, can and often does lead to more violent crimes that even the heartiest libertarians among us would rather do without. So, in that regard, it was nice to see federal authorities pay attention to the county's public safety. But repeatedly we've been told that the real marijuana crisis in Humboldt County has little to do with in-home, or even domestic outdoor marijuana growing operations. Instead, the real problem, the real crime and the real danger comes from drug cartels, who have staked out huge acreage in the woods of Humboldt County and keep those massive plots guarded at all times by armed thugs. It's no joke that one should tread lightly in the local wilderness. You never know when a single misstep could put you in harm's way with just such a guard, one of whom -- Eloy Infante-Toscano, 40 -- was shot late last year when he reportedly raised his weapon at deputies who stumbled upon his growing operation 12 miles east of Holmes Flat. So while it was nice to see that the feds are concerned with the public safety of Humboldt County residents, we'd have preferred to see them direct those resources toward what we're told is the real problem in marijuana cultivation, the problem that puts the lives of area hikers' and residents' at risk. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake