The Emerald Triangle once again leads the way on cannabis issues to the delight/amusement of the more conservative Bay Area (yes, I get a kick out of pairing Bay Area and conservative together. We are to the Bay Area what San Francisco is to the rest of the United States—a far left leaning group of wonderfully wacky characters.) The SF Gate (online version of the Chronicle) offers a wide eyed look at the 2nd Congressional district’s candidates:

Andy Caffrey, a Garberville resident running for Congress, stood before the media outside a former medical marijuana dispensary in Fairfax the other day and sparked up a - medicinal - joint…

In just about any other congressional race in the country, Caffrey’s puff would be launch-the-TV-attack-ads controversial. But not in the liberal Second District, which stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge through America’s pot breadbasket to Oregon. The legalization question has been raised in nearly every debate - and drawn mostly amens.

It’s a sign of the growing acceptance of marijuana. Although retiring Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, is one of the most liberal members of Congress, she opposes the general legalization of marijuana. She is fine with the medicinal use of marijuana, which was legalized in California in 1996, and opposes the recent federal crackdown on medical dispensaries, as do all 12 candidates - even the two Republicans.

Being pro-legalization in the Second District is not a hippie position. It’s rooted in worrying about increasing violence connected with illegal grow operations, concerns about the environmental impact of pot farms and, most of all, the economy.