You might remember Angelo Depuma from episode 28, Top 10 Libertarian Sci-Fi Movies. Angelo is a rising musician/comedian who happens to be both a friend a member of this movement of ours. He's back for episode 40 to tell us about the Northern California trim scene which is also the subject of the Netflix documentary, Murder Mountain.
Each year, trimmigrants from all over the world gather to trim the cannabis crop. In doing so they are knowingly putting themselves at risk; which is perhaps one reason they are rewarded generously for their efforts.
Trimmers are part of a much larger process that has traditionally taken place underground. Farmers in North Cali would grow the cannabis and trimmers like Angelo would step in to prepare it for market. The product then begins to trickle down to the consumer, all the while hidden from the state's regulatory eye.
In this way, the trim scene is truly the pinnacle of agorism, combining both vertical and horizontal strategies to achieve maximum efficiency. By this I mean the industry includes local production facilities as well as free trade networks (see more on the horizontal/vertical strategies here).
It was only through these means that we were able to exhaust and defeat the state (although we certainly suffered heavy casualties) during their violent drug war. Fresh off this defeat, it's no wonder the enemy is changing strategy. Their recent preference of imposing taxation and licensing schemes rather than outright prohibition is evidence of their new"if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude.
I asked Angelo for some photos of his experiences in order to give folks an idea of what life would be like, if they chose to join our ranks...
