I was in Los Bagels the other day reading The LumberJack. I came upon an article outlining the changes in 215 regulations for the city of Arcata. Once again I am impressed by Arcata’s willingness to have its citizens participate in regulating its population. Most of the new regulations would require neighbors tattling on neighbors. For example, grow rooms must be located outside of the main living area of a house. My personal favorite is this: To protect a sense of community, medical grows must not be detectable from outside the residence. This includes having several people visiting the house each day who do not participate in the community. So if neighbors or people passing by on the street can smell or see anything implying marijuana cultivation in the house, they can report the violation to the Arcata Police Department in confidentially. Penalties for violations depend on the severity of the violation. I feel sorry for the police officers who have to investigate every irate neighbors claim.
This vote by the city council illustrates Arcata’s peculiar brand of government. Their belief that government should be involved in every aspect of our lives bothers me. I feel as if it encourages all of us to stoop to the lowest common denominator. In the council’s mind we need laws to distinguish between right and wrong. Most people cannot be trusted to know or follow these unwritten social laws. They need clear cut guidance in the form of regulations. We are all encouraged to police our fellow man. Unfortunately that sense of power sometimes goes to a person’s head. Believing that they know better then others, they incessantly meddle and sometimes even exaggerate offenses.
In Retaliation 