Much of that black market grow happens on “the Mountain,” where the illegal trade isn’t limited to cannabis but is increasingly seeing the sale of other drugs like meth and heroin.

“We know marijuana isn’t a gateway drug,” Zeman says, “but the illegal production and sale of marijuana can beget the illegal production and sale of other things. If, for example, a drug trafficking organization decides it’s going to set up an illegal grow in Humboldt, they can then use those same drug trafficking pathways for other illegal things, be it other drugs or sex trafficking.”

“The goal of the series is to show the harm done by cannabis prohibition and, unfortunately, the way to get people to notice is to focus on the negative aspects,” he says. “But once we shine the light and can disinfect the more negative parts, Humboldt County really will be an incredible tourist destination. It will be the Napa County of cannabis. Legal farmers are the ones who are making that happen. It takes incredible bravery to move into the white market after decades of being silent and in the shadows. But that’s what they’re doing.”