Why legal weed is failing in one of California’s legendary pot-growing regions
LA TimesXong Vang and Chia Xiong arrived in Douglas City, a town of the Gold Rush era, hoping to make good from the next big California boom. Xong Vang and wife Chia Xiong came to Trinity County as part of the “Green Rush” after California legalized weed for recreational use in 2016. Financial losses from illegal operations and depressed prices have been “incalculable” for farmers, said Adrien Keys, president of the Trinity County Agriculture Alliance, an association of about 100 cultivators. We don’t have to pay the fees and taxes.” Michael Polson, a research scientist with the Cannabis Research Center at UC Berkeley, noted the impact of Trinity County’s chaotic cannabis program. “Who knows?” Experts who researched the local weed market said Trinity officials focused on potential revenue but gave little thought to technical details that exposed the county to legal challenges.
History of this topic
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