Indopedia All Things Marijuana
As of last November, it has been legal for California residents to grow up to six cannabis plants for personal use, or to apply for a permit to grow a larger quantity of marijuana to sell. But law enforcement have reported that the majority of growers in Northern California have chosen to forego the legal licensing process. Many of these growers are cultivating marijuana for the black market in states where cannabis is still illegal, as customers in those states are willing to pay much higher prices for weed.
Mendocino County officials have received around 700 applications for cannabis cultivation permits, but there are reportedly several thousand growers in the county. “There are very few areas you can go in the county and not find marijuana — it’s everywhere,” said Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant Bruce Smith. “The vast majority aren’t permitted.”
Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Association, estimates that only 11 percent of all cannabis growers in the “Emerald Triangle” of Mendocino, Humboldt, and Trinity counties have applied for permits. “I know that the numbers don’t look great; there are a lot of…
