Beyond the “Redwood Curtain,” or so it has been called, lies a place of intrigue, folklore, and overall mystery. With this mystery comes elaboration of truth and also a notoriety that is hard to ignore.

I did not realize the notoriety of my home until I visited Ireland at 14. There I was, sitting in front of my first pint of Guinness. The locals were enthusiastically questioning me about the United States.

“You’re from California? How could yah be? You don’t have a tan.”

“I’m from fog-covered Northern California.”

“Ah…not like Baywatch there, eh?”

“No, and I don’t know any movie stars either.”

“So then, where are you from?”

“It’s very small, you wouldn’t know it.”

“Where?” They all chimed in.

“Well, Arcata. It is in Humboldt County.” I expected an immediate look of vacancy, but instead they all broke out in cheers.

“We know Humboldt. I heard the pot there grows by the side of the road.”

“I heard you can just smoke it on the streets and the pigs don’t come and getcha.”

I looked at them, bewildered. I could not believe that halfway across the globe, in a small pub in Ireland, everyone not only knew the county I was from, but also had attached to it all of the preconceived, and tall-tale notions of what Humboldt really stood for.

Yet I had to sit back and realize that I myself was guilty of this, as well. Before coming to Ireland I dreamed of lush waterfalls, rainbows, and leprechauns.

Sadly, I soon realized, upon actual inspection, these preconceived ideas were not at all accurate. There was not one damn leprechaun in sight.

Following this trip I traveled to many other places, and yet the reactions stayed the same: Humboldt is pot heaven.

I cannot say that this is totally inaccurate. Yes, we do have a significant amount of marijuana growers, but so do our neighboring counties. In the county of Mendocino, just to the south, it is actually legal to grow a small number of plants for personal consumption.

So why does Humboldt seem to carry this signature, when this is not something unique to this area?

Humboldt County is, to use a generic metaphor, a vast quilt sewn of many fabrics: environmentalists and loggers, ‘real’ hippies and trust-fund hippies, artists, business people, fishermen, students, farmers, the list goes on. Yet, even with the obvious conflicting ideas of these groups, our area seems to live in a relatively peaceful state.

People flock to this area to escape the traffic, pollution, and the fast pace of the cities. You can sit out on your roof after sundown and actually see the stars. You can walk at night without that impending fear of someone attacking you. You don’t have to set aside two hours of your life each day just to drive to work. These are characteristics of the Humboldt community.

The marijuana culture is often thought to rule this land. I have even been told that Arcata is basically a haven for the children of the sixties and seventies who were looking for a way out of the traditional constructs of society. With a culture of middle-aged pot heads also comes the assumption of a very liberal and free society. Yet, if you look at the gubernatorial race, the very conservative Arnold Schwarzenegger actually won in Humboldt County by a considerable margin. This dissolves that myth. Although the city council of Arcata is mostly affliliated with the Green Party and is run with a liberal hand, the business owners, workers, and people of the Humboldt County are not as liberal as everyone believes they are.

“I came here for the agrarian existence, and to live in a habitat of big trees,” Nathan Porter, a Florida native, said. “There is such a nice feeling here…a real community working together.”

Porter is like so many others who seem to be drawn to this area from far off lands. He was aware of the Humboldt folklore, but said it was not a selling point for the area as a whole.

“I had heard people talking about Humboldt weed, but I honestly just wanted to get away from the city life and come to a place that was truly unique.”

So therein lies the truth of one Humboldt newcomer. But the stigma remains. Travel to any university in the United States wearing your Humboldt State sweatshirt and someone will almost definitely come up to you with a questioning look.

“Hey man, you bring any of that stuff over with you?”

Why does this become our focus, our defining feature in such a beautiful and diverse wilderness, comprised of such amazing individuals? Why can’t we be known for our forward thinking and research-oriented college? Our majestic redwood forests? Or our enormous artist community? According to a Humboldt Arts Council survey, over 50 percent of Humboldt County residents say they are artists, both professionally and recreationally.

The only answer I can come up with is the extreme staying power of labels and nicknames. Humboldt has carried this stigma over several decades. Humboldt State was a huge Mecca for student activists and war protesters in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Did they bring notoriety to this area by spreading tales about Humboldt County’s illegal agricultural products?

Maybe this idea of Humboldt is fueled by the national publicity of this area?

"Humboldt is the nexus point of the whole growing movement," said Steve Bloom, the senior editor of High Times Magazine, a New York City-based publication distributed worldwide and dedicated to the complete coverage of marijuana.

Many articles in High Times Magazine about marijuana growing in Humboldt have reiterated certain claims about this area, citing places such as the Arcata Plaza and HSU residence halls as some of the easiest places to buy weed.

It stumps me as to why this is all anyone can say about our area. It has become an exciting occasion now to tell people where I am from because I immediately expect that acknowledgment of “Humboldt.”