While the Nation focuses on the pros and cons of legalization of marijuana, the plight of the children being raised in the Humboldt County environment, where marijuana is king, is notably under reported.
The purpose of this article is primarily to share with you a blog, currently being written and updated by my son Robert Jr., 41 years of age, now living in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It is he who is the expert. I only know of the details because of our relationship, because of many hours spent on the telephone, sharing his emotions, hearing of his research, following his many visits to court both by phone and personal treks to the North and wishing he could be, we could be, concentrating on more positive things.
Notions of unfair, not right, not good, not according to the law, have long been discarded by me as I’ve come to the conclusion that the people responsible for child welfare in Humboldt County are not organized to do what’s right or what’s legal. Rather, they seem to be systematically acting in a way that supports a culture and a society whose economics appears to be 50 percent dependent on a crop still considered “illegal” by most of our state and national world.
Here is the blog address:
http://humboldtkids.wordpress.com
It is his report which will provide the personal experiences, the questions and answers he has had and some of the conclusions which include:
1) It would appear there is a significant financial benefit to institutions and individuals in Humboldt County, when the ordinary laws of child custody, child support and related family matters are ignored. The example cited by Robert, as a part of his research, include the notion that if an unmarried “Marijuana Mother” appears before social services for child support, the agencies responsible are awarded $3 for every $1 awarded to the mother. In other words, there is a cash flow benefit when those bodies rule in favor of the mother. It would appear, based on Robert’s experience with social services and courts in Humboldt County, that this end result skews the proceedings in favor of the mother, even though such a result may be a clear violation of California Law.
2) So what do you do? You work for a living in an environment where finding legitimate unionized work in the construction industry has been dramatically reduced. You attend various costly proceedings where each time, the decision, despite your research, is contrary to the law and more importantly contrary to what you as the father believe to be in the child’s best interest. You may commiserate, you may fret, you may spend too many hours doing more and more research, doing more and more things to attempt to find that one person or entity who can agree and help … and … you can be sure … one of the things you do is pay your bill. The State of California as it acts in Humboldt County, does appear to be very good at turning this case (any case?) into a bill to the out of state father, that must be paid, even though that same State of California doe not appear to be equally skilled at answering questions about child custody, visitation, the mother’s actual income, the mother’s compliance with other court orders, the child’s real welfare, which according to law are supposed to come first.
3) “… any solution which does not consider the children affected
by the marijuana industry will be distressingly inadequate.”
So, yes, my concern and my sons certainly begin with questions about his relationship and the welfare of his daughter. We do, however, understand, that anything that can be done once can probably be discovered to be being done over and over and over again. Is his personal experience and those of others he has discovered “the rule?”
Is this how child welfare in Humboldt County works?
How about in your town? Our town?
Does this add to the conversation about the consequences of continuing to treat marijuana different than say, wine? Consider this difference. You are a youngster being raised by a single mother who works at “You Name The Winery.” You are a youngster being raised by a single mother, employed but “unemployed” servicing the number one cash crop in your town. The “winery” in this case, is located “just up that hill.”
As my son writes,
“While you may be indifferent or undecided about the legalization of
marijuana, you would have to be as cold and unfeeling as the denizens
of the Emerald Triangle to support a mechanism which allows a child to
be stolen from it’s parents.”
To consider the details, please read Robert’s blog.
http://humboldtkids.wordpress.com
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