Humboldt County is famous for its beauty, its timber, its environmental activism — and its marijuana.
As with all underground economies, Humboldt’s is a long-term threat to the livelihood of all its residents. From widespread health problems to violent crime, from a crippled work force to an under funded infrastructure, the real costs of the regional drug trade are staggering.
For example, businesses that try to hire a drug-free workforce have found that up to 80% of the applicants they test for drug use fail.
California Connected discusses these and related challenges with Kathleen Moxon, Director of the Institute of the North Coast and Chief Administrative Officer of the Humboldt Area Foundation, Jacqueline Debets, Executive Director of the Humboldt County Community Development Services, and Dr. Joseph Leeper, Chair of the Geography Department at Humboldt State University, about the present state and future of this region at risk.
- “A County Awash in Drugs & Alcohol,” North Coast Journal
- Humboldt Area Foundation
- Humboldt County Workforce Investment Board
- Humboldt County Community Investment Development Services Department
- Humboldt State University, Geography Department
- Prosperity Strategy Analysis of Humboldt County’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, Department of Economics, Humboldt State University, estimates: “Humboldt County likely generates 200 to 500 million dollars through marijuana production every year.”
- Humboldt County, California, Wikipedia.org