Arcata, California.
The smell of weed is as prevalent as the white boy dreads, transients,
tie dye, Earth tones and Vanagons. I
avoid the place whenever possible, the same way most people avoid the public
toilet with the mess on the seat. When I
can’t help but visit, I try to make it a short trip. It’s a “college town.” It’s an “artist community.” Yeah.
I suppose those terms are right. More
than that, though, it is Pot Central, USA.
Arcata has some things worth
noting. Good stores. Good food.
Even a few good people. It’s a
throwback to the ‘60s while still maintaining a façade of progressive leanings. The motto tends to be, “Green is good.” Green, of course, represents money, Mother
Earth and Mary Jane. Green is good. Yes, it is.
If you can mix and master all three, why that’s called the ArcataOrgasmic Swirl.
Pot rules the roost in Arcata, as
it does for most of Humboldt. Non-native,
smaller-time growers took over and jacked up the real estate prices a few years
back, though. Then, sensing the way the
wind was blowing, spoke out against the legalization of the drug as black
market prices would tumble and a once-sure would become an oh-so-uncertain. Their laments even started to crossover to
the more “refined” growers who, as they like to think, aren’t in it for the
buck but for the principle. The risk of
jail (almost nil) is worth the prize … now.
Crime is king because it pays.
While Colorado opens stores dedicated to the one-time devil weed,
Humboldt’s natives are scratching their heads and saying, “Why weren’t we
first?” A lot of those queries are
coming from Arcata. Why weren’t they
first? Ask the growers.
Back in the day when I saw what was
happening with the legalization movement, I was going to trademark a Humboldt
brand for smoking devices and then sue the holy fuck out of anyone who used
it. I figured once it was (inevitably)
legal, some of the bigger corporations would find a way to weasel on in. Since it is only really legal by the grace of
a “progressive” Fed in places like Colorado, those corporations haven’t banged
down the door yet. After all, they have
stockholders, and stockholders have this fear of the Feds. Plus, if you follow politics you know that if
the Republicans take over, things as we know them will be radically
different. You can bet that they won’t
be proponents of states’ rights when it comes to this subject. Stockholders may be fearful, but they’re also
a kind of smart. They are waiting to see
how things pan out because as of now it’s still too early to tell. Proponents, however, are already claiming
victory. Proponents. Not growers.
Not all of them. Not the ones who
operate in the secretive world of underground grows, well-hidden outdoor grows,
and the less-than-rare gutted house grows.
The native growers with big operations operate well outside of
Arcata. Arcata has its mom and pops, but
it also has those late arrivals to the party who took over and slightly altered
the course of the town.
So Arcata’s residents ride a wave
of Humboldt quasi-legalization, a curl that suits the non-native perfectly
well, thank you. Pot is legal to use and
grow if you have a doctor giving the nod (and they all do around here). You most likely won’t get busted if you don’t
have the card giving you that right, though.
You could be. You probably won’t
be. The police have better things to do,
as it should be. For the capitalist
grower, this keeps the prices high and the risk low. Any student of capitalism knows this is the
“sweet spot.”
I imagine if pot ever gets the
full-scale legal treatment, Arcata is going to look a lot different. That low- end, psychedelic vibe that it has
now is going to subtly change in a way its residents may not like too
much. While there are folks there who
maintain that capitalism is king, there is a decidedly larger group that feels
much the opposite, and the idea of pot becoming a commodity like a McDonald’s
hamburger or hip hop leaves them with a bad taste in their mouths. The purity of God’s gift will be violated,
and violation will not be tolerated. Green
isn’t always good when it denotes rot.
Arcata has its charms. It’s not the people or the product, though. It’s the idea that the various philosophies can work if given the proper foundation and structure. It’s the idea of hope. It’s a place where art wants to rule over commerce. All of that, however, has been ruined by a population of people who only think they know what makes it special. It’s not the pot or the entitled fucks playing at being homeless. Those two things can be tossed out with the unused bathwater. These people think they and their love of the weed is what keeps the town held together. That social glue is as weak as their will, though. What makes Arcata different is that underneath the sticky veneer is an experiment that kind of works as it maintains that delicate balance. People care about where they live. They care about what comes in. They care about their way of life being destroyed by the very thing that gives so many of their lives meaning.
It’s admirable. It’s honorable. In the end, though, it will be wasted. The tolerance Arcata’s citizens have shown to
non-native growers (and the scumbag landlords who profit from them) will be its
undoing.
