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. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake