If you give me wilderness, waves and wine and show me a sign, I’ll be…

…uh…in Mendocino? (Apologies to Little Feat.)

This new sign on Hwy 101 northbound (in Sonoma County) omits any mention of Mendo’s number one economic engine, “weed.” The choice of “w” words for the other three features is almost a subtle joke, since whoever commissioned the sign was obviously aware of the county’s reputation and industry.

Whatever the thinking behind the wording, I think it makes a profound statement about where the Northcoast is with regard to marijuana: still in the closet, still in denial, still playing “let’s pretend.”

Mendocino just suspended its permit program and Humboldt County placed a moratorium on new dispensary applications, both due to federal saber-rattling.

I have some pretty disparaging things to say about Northcoast County Supervisors with regard to their inability or unwillingness to pass decent medical marijuana policy a decade and a half after the passage of Proposition 215 and about their chicken-hearted cave-in to the feds. Same goes for the California state legislature. But I’ll refrain for now and hope that one or more of the upcoming marijuana legalization and medical marijuana initiatives passes in November and clarifies the subject once and for all.

No matter what, we can be guaranteed of one thing: in the next month, thousands of growers will be starting hundreds of thousands of seeds for this season’s crop, starting the cycle over again.

Speaking of which, I have a proposal: When you growers out there have some nice, big male plants, instead of juicing them for the CBDs, complete the message by planting them around that sign one night. Take a photo and I’ll publish it here and on the film’s Facebook fan page. Whoever sends the best photo will get a thank-you mention in the film’s credits!