The North Coast Journal grabbed my attention this week with Ryan Burns’ excellent assessment of Sheriff Downey’s attempts to deal with large scale marijuana operations. From the photo above, to the specific incidents here in Humboldt (though he could have mentioned that the Lost Coast Outpost broke the story not the South Dakota Paper,) to the agencies Sheriff Mike Downey has tried to get help from, the article gives readers insights into what is happening with law enforcement and marijuana in this county.  In the story, Downey states,

“I began to reach out then, not only to the U.S. Attorney’s Office but [also to] the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the U.S. Marshall’s Office, ATF.”

One of the agencies Downey is approaching could have long term effects in the area. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program, HIDTA, which “designs initiatives and requests funding to implement them. The program also offers support for technology, intelligence analysis and training.”

I recommend reading this piece on what law enforcement in Humboldt is doing and might be doing in the future with respect to marijuana grows.