I loved this one! It reminded me of my days in Santa Barbara County, California, first, going to the University of California there, and then living next door to the campus. Especially the late 1960s and all during the 1970s -- the '60s might have been Woodstock Nation, but the '70s was the time of the fallout from the '60s, burnt-out, homeless hippies mingling with burnt-out, homless veterans wandering the streets, making life thoroughly weird for everybody else, and students making some income on the side dealing dope or using home-made chemistry labs to cook this or that recreational substance and sell that. (If you have an image of that area covered by a sort of rainbow fog, you're right, but only up to a point: Santa Barbara itself, as well as Montecito, Hope Ranch, and the Riveria, suburbs of Santa Barbara, are the home of wealthy, influential people who run everything -- and own tenements in those cities as well as in Isla Vista, next door to UCSB, which function as student slums. Many of them do drugs, too -- the designer
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Yeah, I've heard some other folks sharing stories of the bizarreness in southern CA at that point in time. Including stories about a near-war between the pot growers in the hills and cheap druggies who decided to sneak up and swipe the stuff.
As I recall, Dada said that Soldier Boy's brains were more or less permanently fried from that point on, but he stayed pretty lucid aside from some oddball hallucinations; no dangerous behavior or the like.
I kinda wonder just what was put in the poor guy's weed to send him that far out of his skull, though.
Yeah, I've heard some other folks sharing stories of the bizarreness in southern CA at that point in time. Including stories about a near-war between the pot growers in the hills and cheap druggies who decided to sneak up and swipe the stuff.
That's actually happened from time to time. In Humboldt County, CA, it can be worth your life to try to walk through certain areas unaccompanied by a property owner or any sign you have permission to do so, because the owners of the outdoor pot farms there are that quick on the trigger. DEA and people from local police agencies try to avoid entering such areas at all, at any time, unless they're in large numbers, wearing armor, and attended by Apache police choppers armed with really high-power weapons. South of there, in Santa Barbara County and other SCa counties where they grow pot outdoors, drug addicts, potheads, and dealers who want to increase their profit margin by stealing somebody else's produce compound the pot-growers' woes, because of which traveling in the vicinity of their pot
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That's actually happened from time to time. In Humboldt County, CA, it can be worth your life to try to walk through certain areas unaccompanied by a property owner or any sign you have permission to do so, because the owners of the outdoor pot farms there are that quick on the trigger. DEA and people from local police agencies try to avoid entering such areas at all, at any time, unless they're in large numbers, wearing armor, and attended by Apache police choppers armed with really high-power weapons. South of there, in Santa Barbara County and other SCa counties where they grow pot outdoors, drug addicts, potheads, and dealers who want to increase their profit margin by stealing somebody else's produce compound the pot-growers' woes, because of which traveling in the vicinity of their pot farms can be very interesting experiences.
Yeow.
I didn't think that things could get that "exciting" in the hills.
And thanks for the rundown on what might have happened with Soldier Boy. I'm guessing you studied medicine or pharmacology in
Yeow. I didn't think that things could get that "exciting" in the hills.
Oh, yes, it has happened. Not all the time, but enough times to spark local legends and make the cops very, very nervous about entering such areas.
And thanks for the rundown on what might have happened with Soldier Boy. I'm guessing you studied medicine or pharmacology in college?My health failed before I could actually get my BSc, and I've been on disability most of the time ever since. But that meant I had plenty of time to read and research my interests which, among other things, have included biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, astrobiology, biochemistry, and related fields. (Other: astronomy, cosmology, science fiction, Qaballah, Tarot, mathematics, history, Ceremonial Magick, some other esoteric studies, humor, horror, and some fantasy. I've written some articles and a lot of fiction, short and long -- got some of it up on Scribd.com and on my blog [check out tags "horror", "h p lovecraft", "dragons", "poetry", "qaballah", "magick", etc. on my
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Hmm,I grew up in Redding, which is in the extreme eastern edge of whats called the Emerald Triangle. (Its not considered within the triangle to some experts, but there are political considerations why they make that claim...)
There were places in Shasta county that were dangerous to go alone and unarmed way out in the boonies due to pot cultivation- but I've been away for over 20 years now, so things might have moved farther out into the wilderness.
Redding was a distribution center for pot for at least a while during my teens- the local sheriff was a "Boss Hogg" type and had a lot of things going on...and got voted out of office eventually because he got too high a profile in his little dealings.
So yeah. Most of the upper state where theres water has illegal pot farming going on if you look for it. Though looking for it is asking for trouble.
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As I recall, Dada said that Soldier Boy's brains were more or less permanently fried from that point on, but he stayed pretty lucid aside from some oddball hallucinations; no dangerous behavior or the like.
I kinda wonder just what was put in the poor guy's weed to send him that far out of his skull, though.
Reply
That's actually happened from time to time. In Humboldt County, CA, it can be worth your life to try to walk through certain areas unaccompanied by a property owner or any sign you have permission to do so, because the owners of the outdoor pot farms there are that quick on the trigger. DEA and people from local police agencies try to avoid entering such areas at all, at any time, unless they're in large numbers, wearing armor, and attended by Apache police choppers armed with really high-power weapons. South of there, in Santa Barbara County and other SCa counties where they grow pot outdoors, drug addicts, potheads, and dealers who want to increase their profit margin by stealing somebody else's produce compound the pot-growers' woes, because of which traveling in the vicinity of their pot ( ... )
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Yeow.
I didn't think that things could get that "exciting" in the hills.
And thanks for the rundown on what might have happened with Soldier Boy. I'm guessing you studied medicine or pharmacology in
Reply
Oh, yes, it has happened. Not all the time, but enough times to spark local legends and make the cops very, very nervous about entering such areas.
And thanks for the rundown on what might have happened with Soldier Boy. I'm guessing you studied medicine or pharmacology in college?My health failed before I could actually get my BSc, and I've been on disability most of the time ever since. But that meant I had plenty of time to read and research my interests which, among other things, have included biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, astrobiology, biochemistry, and related fields. (Other: astronomy, cosmology, science fiction, Qaballah, Tarot, mathematics, history, Ceremonial Magick, some other esoteric studies, humor, horror, and some fantasy. I've written some articles and a lot of fiction, short and long -- got some of it up on Scribd.com and on my blog [check out tags "horror", "h p lovecraft", "dragons", "poetry", "qaballah", "magick", etc. on my ( ... )
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(Its not considered within the triangle to some experts, but there are political considerations why they make that claim...)
There were places in Shasta county that were dangerous to go alone and unarmed way out in the boonies due to pot cultivation- but I've been away for over 20 years now, so things might have moved farther out into the wilderness.
Redding was a distribution center for pot for at least a while during my teens- the local sheriff was a "Boss Hogg" type and had a lot of things going on...and got voted out of office eventually because he got too high a profile in his little dealings.
So yeah.
Most of the upper state where theres water has illegal pot farming going on if you look for it.
Though looking for it is asking for trouble.
-Badger-
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Though I have to wonder how this entry went from a druggie in Eastern PA to growing pot in Northern California...
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