Emerald Triangle


The Emerald Triangle is a region in Northern California, named as such due to it being the largest cannabis-producing region in the United States. The region includes three counties in an upside-down triangular configuration:
Growers have been cultivating Cannabis plants in this region since the 1960s, during San Francisco's Summer of Love. Growing cannabis in the Emerald Triangle is considered a way of life, and the locals believe that everyone living in this region is either directly or indirectly reliant on the cannabis industry. The industry exploded in the region with the passage of California Proposition 215, which legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes in California. The passage of Proposition 64 in 2016 legalized the general sale and distribution of cannabis.

Population

The total population in the Emerald Triangle is 236,250 according to the 2010 census. The majority of the population is widely spread throughout the woody hills and mountains that make up the area. With an area of 11,138 square miles, the Emerald Triangle population density is 21/mi2.
In this sparsely populated region, the largest urban area is the city of Eureka in Humboldt County with a population approaching 50,000 people. The second and third largest cities, by far larger than any other cities in the region, are Arcata, with 17,231 people, and Ukiah, with 16,075 people.

Environmental concerns

There is an environmental impact from outdoor cannabis production in the Emerald Triangle, which is largely unregulated. These effects include illegal damming, diversion and taking of water from streams, and also pesticide-laden runoff into streams, all of which may degrade critical salmon fisheries. Clearcutting and roadbuilding for the cannabis plantations can also lead to habitat degradation which endangers salmon. The grows often occur illegally on public land.

Surveillance lawsuit

In 1984, Humboldt residents filed a federal lawsuit claiming they had been subject to illegal surveillance by U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft deployed by the California-based multiagency task force started the year prior, the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting.