CANNABIS HISTORY
◄ Continued from page 18
Power and Corruption —
A Mini-History of Cannabis Cultivation in the USA and Mexico ’ s Connection
Though wild plants were mostly non-psychoactive hemp plants , the Reefer Madness-mentality of local authorities led to the recruitment of everyday citizens , like rural farmers and their families , to help eradicate the crops . Some locations even appointed “ weed commissioners ” tasked with assisting federal agents . By the end of 1938 , a total of 26,000 tons of cannabis had been destroyed . For a short time , the problem of wild marijuana was curtailed by America ’ s weed-whacking do-gooders .
By WWII , farmers who had their hemp crops destroyed were demanded to regrow it in support of war efforts . After the war , the government halted production of the plant again , upending the livelihoods of rural farmers . Americans would not oblige the whims of the government this time , and between the mid-1940s to late-1950s , California and Colorado quietly pioneered cannabis cultivation culture in the United States .
The popularization of recreational cannabis use skyrocketed by way of 1960s counterculture , and along with it , a resurgence of interest in harvesting wild weed . After decades of fighting wild cannabis , authorities wanted to put an end to it for good . Enter , widespread use of herbicides . Terrible for wildlife , these chemicals were used freely to combat unwanted weed plants . Popular at the time was the herbicide 2,4-D , then prominent in Agent Orange . ( The EPA allowed the use of this herbicide until 1985 .)
Also , knowing we received large-scale black-market marijuana from Mexico , the American government demanded our vecinos to the south follow suit . Together , the two nations killed large crops of wild and cultivated marijuana , causing an outcry from American pot smokers . It can be said that this propelled California ’ s burgeoning cannabis cultivation scene into high gear in its secluded hills and forests in the 1970s .
Due to an increase in the cost of living and a crackdown on Mexican weed import moving into the 1980s , small-scale cultivators realized the monetary value of selling weed , and a solid black-market industry was born . By the mid-1980s , California grew $ 300- $ 400 million in marijuana . As backlash to their success , a statewide effort to eradicate the crop threatened the industry .
Cultivators shifted from outdoor grows to more controlled and sophisticated modes indoors , providing safety and privacy from authorities . Look no further than California ’ s infamous Emerald Triangle , consisting of Kendall , Humboldt , and Trinity counties , encompassing an area nearly 2,000 football fields in size ( that ’ s huge !). Despite eradication efforts that continued to destroy 13 million plants
20 February 2022 a year , the Emerald Triangle thrived through the ‘ 90s until the state became the first to legalize the medicinal use of the plant in 1996 .
Although Northern California was once a haven for homestead cultivators , sadly , it is now , in part , under the control of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel ( or JNCG , the newest , richest , most dangerous Mexican drug cartel of all time ). After abandoning decades-old cannabis farms in Mexico , JNCG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ( aka Mencho ) has moved his cartel into the dense wilderness of Northern California ’ s Emerald Triangle .
Mencho can easily grow marijuana in the shadows of legal farms or take over grows entirely — and what can anyone do ? Mendocino County Sheriff Matt Kendall claims that there are up to 10,000 illegal grows in his region alone but only 1,100 permits to grow . California ’ s legal cannabis industry continues to suffer , and areas are now nicknamed “ Murder Mountain ” due to missing persons cases and killings in the area . Mencho , whose power continues to strengthen , was born to impoverished avocado
Mencho ’ s 1986 Mugshot , Mexican drug lord and leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel . growers in rural Jalisco and dropped out of school to work in the avocado fields in fifth grade . By 14 years old , he was armed and guarding marijuana fields in Mexico . Accounts of Mencho and the cartel takeover in California are present in most news outlets today .
From small-scale window boxes in the early 1900s to massive present-day commercial legal ( and illegal ) grow facilities across this nation , cannabis cultivation continues to evolve in the United States . One conclusion can be made : the cannabis plant is the people ’ s crop and always has been .
We are living through history here in Missouri , contributing to a developing industry that will be looked back on 100 years from now . What are we getting right ? What are we getting wrong ? What stories do we want to be told about us ?
History is ours to create .
Karla Deel is the Flora Farms Marketing Director , a writer , poet , and researcher , with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Media Arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City . She ’ s published a book titled “ Storied & Scandalous Kansas City , a History of Corruption Mischief and a Whole Lot of Booze .” Deel also serves on the Jackson County Historical Society board , works in communications for the Friends of the Kansas City Public Library , and volunteers for several local nonprofits . Visit Karla at
www . KarlaDeel . com .