{"id":3104,"date":"2021-12-21T12:50:54","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T01:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/the-cannabis-chaos-continues-as-any-objective-non-cannabis-user-did-predict-2\/"},"modified":"2021-12-21T12:50:54","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T01:50:54","slug":"the-cannabis-chaos-continues-as-any-objective-non-cannabis-user-did-predict-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dalgarnoinstitute.org.au\/wp_site\/the-cannabis-chaos-continues-as-any-objective-non-cannabis-user-did-predict-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cannabis Chaos Continues \u2013 As any objective non-cannabis user did predict."},"content":{"rendered":"

We don\u2019t want this insanity to happen here \u2013 Bringing an illicit psychotropic toxin into the currents of trade fixes NOTHING, but only empowers the addiction for profit nightmare on more fronts, with taxpayer funded governments active participants int this public safety and public health nightmare.<\/em><\/p>\n

Marijuana wars: Violent Mexican drug cartels turn Northern California into \u2018The Wild West\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

COVELO, Calif. \u2014 Mexican drug cartels are muscling in on America’s burgeoning multi-billion-dollar marijuana industry, illegally growing large crops in the hills and valleys of Northern California.<\/p>\n

The state legalized marijuana in 2016 for adult recreational use, yet the black market continues to thrive with thousands of illegal grows. Criminal syndicates, in turn, are cashing in across the U.S. on the “green gold rush.”<\/p>\n

Americans’ growing embrace of marijuana has given the cartels an avenue to expand their reach, employing the same vicious tactics they use to push out competitors in the illicit opioid <\/strong>trade.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the Wild West. We\u2019ve got people in gunfights on a regular basis over marijuana.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“And, the number of missing people is insane,” especially in the Emerald Triangle. “During grow season, people call the sheriffs’ offices up there looking for loved ones who may never be found.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Headless bodies and murder victims<\/strong><\/p>\n

The sheriff said he doesn’t have enough deputies to safely serve a search warrant amid increasing violence.<\/p>\n

A glimpse at what he’s dealing with: Christopher Wayne Gamble, who allegedly operated large illegal crops near the town of Willits, in central Mendocino County, is charged with murdering a 17-year-old boy and his father who came from Mexico seeking work, according to Mendocino County Superior Court records.<\/p>\n

On a second property Gamble owns, detectives found the victims’ headless bodies in April in a ditch under a pile of tires that had been set on fire.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a punishment to the person who stepped out of line,” the sheriff said. “And a message to the next person: ‘Don\u2019t step out of line.'”<\/p>\n

*****<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Courier Journal spent a week in the valley town of Covelo and throughout Mendocino County, touring cattle ranches, permitted marijuana farms and a licensed dispensary and talking with conservationists, lawmakers, teachers, police and fire officials and tribal members.<\/p>\n

Some gave differing opinions about marijuana and laws governing its crops, but all agreed that crime and related problems have only worsened with legalization.<\/p>\n

The newspaper investigation found:<\/p>\n