I live in the emerald triangle region of northern California. That's the counties of Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity - far north, on or near the coast. We're a sparsely populated area with lots of mountains and natural resources. We think of ourselves as being behind the redwood curtain.
We are also known for growing high potency marijuana. Not everyone in the area grows pot - not by a long shot - but we use something like 5 times the electricity than the rest of the state, per capita, and that's just the growers out to make a quick buck and the legit marijuanma dispensaries. Those two groups tend to grow indoors. We also have lots of of growers who are more like organic farmers and grow outdoors in the sun and have learned organic methods to bring their crop safely to harvest. So what does this have to do with the president firing somebody? Follow me behind the redood curtain.
Each of the three counties of the emerald triangle has a limit to the number of plants that can be grown, and various paperwork that needs to be in place, in order to grow the medical marijuana that California Proposition 215 made legal. Would it surprise you to know that a Mendocino outdoor grower - in full compliance with her county's medical marijuana regs and having just been given a thumbs up inspection by her sheriffs department - has had her farm raided by the DEA? Would it surprise you that the Bush era appointee who is acting DEA head has been nominated to head the agency by President Obama? Wouldn't the appropriate response to this clear contradicion of the stated hands off policy of the Obama White House regarding medical marijuana be to tell her to clear out her desk?
Either this woman is a Bush-tainted holdover who needs to join Elizabeth Birnbaum from the MMS under the bus, or the Obama White House needs to walk back its stated policy of leaving state approved medical marijuana law alone and admit that they want to continue the war against medical marijuana patients and their growers. You can't have it both ways, Barack.
BTW If you want to get some great boots on the ground insight into the marijuana issues in this area, the redheaded blackbelt blog I link to above has lots of great info and comments in the archives from people wearing those boots. Actually, they're mostly wearing sandals. She also posts some remarkable photos. We love our Kym.