the end of prohibition —- again
The South End, being a bit occupationally challenged, has always relied on alternative avenues of work to sustain us. In the 20’s we used our inaccessibility to advantage by bringing in Canadian hooch through our coves and hidden ports. Course, we added our own single stalk nettle scotch to the blend and managed to prosper even into the Great Depression. The end of prohibition cut into the Canadian stock, but Daddle Distillery continues to this day back in the ravines where Revenuers rarely trek.
In the 60’s a new breed of entrepreneur flurourished here in the backwoods, men who accepted risk for high profit. I’m talking, obviously, about the Green Trade, Camano Cannabis. You’d see the sheds with the boarded up windows or the plots bordered by 8 foot high nettles to hide the outdoor crops. An underground market flourished from Elger Bay to Tyee, and homegrown became a staple and a lifestyle. Some say the artists who gravitated down to the island’s far reaches were inspired by Killer Kannabis or Two Toke or Bud Bomb. Others claim they were the new Pharmers of the South End, painters and sculptors who turned their creative energies to horticulture. Or hortichuckle.
These Avante Gardeners now find their way of life threatened with the onslaught of another end to prohibition now that the tidal wave of medical marijuana has reached their hidden shores. No doubt some will adapt. Hazy Jake says he’ll switch to hydroponics and slick marketing. He’s enrolled at the Skagit Community College where he’ll bone up on biogenetics and website design. Jake should do fine. But some of the others ….. well, a lot of bootleggers went broke overnight following the Repeal. My guess is you’ll be seeing an upsurge in art real soon. Not much profit, but we need to stay busy down here…..
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