Mendocino county: Addicted to pot

Ukiah police chief Christopher Dewey is not just ashamed his hometown is known for marijuana, he's concerned about the effect it may be having on the community's youth. A tall, clean-cut, forty-something-year-old man with a baby face and soft- spoken voice, Dewey says his community has been overtaken by pot, and young people are increasingly turning to an illegal business, in part, he believes, because they have no choice. Chief Dewey moonlights as the coach of the local youth football team, working with boys between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. He sees sports as a way to help keep kids out of trouble, but more often than not, in Mendocino County, he complains, the trouble finds them.

The Emerald Triangle is known for exceptional pot. The area, especially Mendocino County, has been honing its expertise since the sixties when the region first became a haven for people using marijuana. Driving into Ukiah, I was struck by the multitude of huge gardening store billboards scattered along the side of the road, advertising the best fertilizers, sophisticated irrigation systems, and pretty much anything else you can imagine to help your "plants" grow. County officials tell me, per capita, there are more gardening shops in the Emerald Triangle than in any other part of the country.

[Thanks Jim!]