While the season may be wrapping up on many cannabis farms, nights are getting colder and processing is in full swing.

The Northern California Coalition to Safeguard Communities is urging people to be on the lookout for signs of human trafficking that occur year round. 

“It’s very much still happening. Growing season is all year round. It’s not just outdoor anymore. People grow indoor. You can grow indoor whenever you please. Which means that these victims are on scene year round. They don’t ever get the chance to be released from their duties.They. If anything, they just get passed from site to site, and they just continue the growing process. And, being trafficked,” says Summer Hansen, public information officer for the Northern California Coalition to Safeguard Communities. 

The coalition says that despite legalization and assumptions the issue is long over, the illegal market remains strong. 

“People think that since it’s legal now, nobody can afford to grow anymore. While that’s true, it has become really unaffordable for people to be able to make a living off of cultivation. That just further pushed people into the shadows who are doing it illegally, for a way that they can still make a profit,” Hansen said. 

“I personally go out on scene and I talk to these victims. I’ve learned firsthand that they have been passed around from other states. They often don’t really understand where they’re being passed around from, but they know that it’s hours away from where they are now. So it is definitely happening very often. Once the job is done in one location, the trafficker gets in contact with another trafficker and just sends that laborer over to them, and they become in their possession. It’s a whole network and it’s constant,” she said.

There are two types of people who can stand up in this situation if they see something suspicious, Hansen says. The rural residents who may be living near people working in suspicious circumstances, and those living in more populated areas like Eureka, Fortuna, McKinleyville and Arcata. 

“Sometimes these traffickers do bring their victims to town. Sometimes they have to go to the clinic or the pharmacy because of their illnesses that they’re suffering on scene. Sometimes their traffickers will even take them to the store. So things to look for if you are out in public, somebody who’s accompanied by someone else who clearly has control over the situation or control over them, someone who is not making eye contact. Someone who looks malnourished. Someone who has poor hygiene. Those are all signs to look for,”

“And again, we do not want the public to intervene with the situation. So if you see something suspicious, stay back. You know, be a fly on the wall. But maybe if it’s safe to do so, snap a picture, give us something. But we. The last thing that we want is for you to get involved in the situation. So only report suspicious activity to us if it means that you’re being safe as well,” Hansen said. 

 

To submit an anonymous tip, you can go to norcalcoalition.org or call 707-441-3031.