Long Beach — Chris Cantella, cultivation manager at Avalon Wellness Center, tends to his indoor crop of marijuana in the Closed Grow Environment room last March. Cantella, a licensed California general contractor, set up the grow room and installed the high pressure sodium lights, air conditioning and emergency Co2 early warning system at the medical marijuana dispensary.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Long Beach — Pot flourishes under special lamps in a grow house at a medical marijuana dispensary.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Long Beach — Assistant grower Roady Cervantes carries a potted marijuana plant in front of a wall of Solis-Tek ballasts, which help maximize electrical efficiency, at the Avalon Wellness Center last March. The ballasts also keep the lights on in the grow rooms and have a safety feature that prevents surges in electrical circuits and prevents breakers from overloading.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Covelo, Calif. — George Unsworth tends to his plants in Mendocino County, where residents can grow 25 if they buy $25 zip-ties for each one from the Sheriff's Department and let a deputy inspect their gardens. Unsworth was one of 12 people to sign up the first year. He says he grows his crop for medicinal reasons.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Covelo, Calif. — George Unsworth rests in the small trailer on his property where he grows marijuana. A spyglass stands at the ready on a tripod so he keep an eye out for unwanted visitors. He also keeps a rifle on hand for protection.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Hoopa, Calif. — Aaron Pole, a tribal wildlife technician, walks a log over a creek deep in the forest of the reservation in eastern Humboldt County where Mexican nationals are suspected of growing marijuana. Water from the creek has been diverted to marijuana crops. Pole suspects that environmental fallout from huge marijuana operations is killing wildlife in the area.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Hoopa, Calif. — Wildlife technician Aaron Pole surveys the forest where marijuana growers left piles of trash when vacating the area. The operation was raided by the Sheriff's Department in August, and deputies cut down 26,600 plants in eight interconnected clearings along Mill Creek.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Hoopa, Calif. — Boots lie abandoned at a campsite used by illicit marijuana growers on reservation land.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Hoopa, Calif. — Wildlife technician Aaron Pole checks out an area deep in the reservation forest that was clear cut by marijuana growers.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Hoopa, Calif. — A giant Pacific salamander waits on leaves deep in the forest where illicit marijuana operations have been found. The huge pot grows are suspected of killing wildlife in the area through runoff from pesticides, the use of poisons against vermin and the diverting of water from fish habitat -- specifically, coho salmon that the state spends millions trying to rehabilitate.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Hoopa, Calif. — Remnants of an illegal marijuana operation that was raided in August are found deep within the forest in eastern Humboldt County.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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Hoopa, Calif. — A lone car drives down Highway 299 on the road to the reservation in eastern Humboldt County. It's an area where huge illicit marijuana operations are taking a heavy toll on the environment.
PHOTOGRAPH BY: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
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