Pot growers thrive in Northern California

Cash crop now accounts for two-thirds of Mendocino County economy

Two hours from San Francisco, Northern California’s Mendocino County is a world away from the urban bustle. At first glance, it’s a picture postcard of the far West. But beneath its beauty lies a controversial, profitable and increasingly violent criminal enterprise.

The marijuana trade is an exploding underground industry. Marijuana is being grown in homes, backyards, even in our national parks.

Since the 1960s, the so-called Emerald Triangle — Northern California's Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties — has increasingly become the haven for people looking to make a living growing marijuana.

“This is ground zero for marijuana. Nobody produces any better marijuana than we do right here,” said Dan Offield, a helicopter pilot and agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, as he examines the area from a bird’s-eye view.

Perhaps no one knows that better than Ukiah Morrison, a Mendocino pot grower. In most places, he would be considered an outlaw, but not in this neck of the woods.

“This is as natural as growing corn to me,” he said. “This is the lifeblood of the county. And it has been for more than 30 years.”

Morrison walks a fine line. He grows as much marijuana as he can without triggering a legal crackdown. He can do that because authorities here are overwhelmed by the sheer number of growers. They’re also hampered by conflicting state, federal and county laws governing marijuana.

Marijuana is the major cash crop here. A county-commissioned study reports pot accounts for up to two-thirds of the local economy.

“I don’t think there’s anything more important in this economy. To take this out would be a major blow,” said Morrison.

Though reliable numbers are hard to come by, marijuana growers in Mendocino County generate an estimated $1 billion a year. That makes the area home to a sizable chunk of a national market for marijuana believed to be in the tens of billions of dollars.

Mendocino local Eric Sligh took CNBC on a tour of one backyard garden.

“These marijuana plants in Mendocino County can sometimes reach 14, 15, 20 feet,” he said. A plant that yields about two pounds would be worth about $5,000, said Sligh; his crop of 20 plants is potentially worth $100,000.

Sligh’s expertise in marijuana led him to publish Grow, a magazine that represents just how far the marijuana business has come. His magazine displays photos that provide an extraordinary glimpse into a drug-based economy.