Editor:

Amy Gustin got it right ("Cannabis Crossroads," Aug. 6). What irony if a region known for its environmental activism lets the commercial pot industry ruin its environment. Environmental regulation will be very hard to enforce, and no government should make laws it cannot enforce; it engenders disrespect in the populace (apologies to Lao Tse).

One practical regulation is surface area, which is easy to monitor (see Google Earth). And as Gustin wrote, the present commercial grows are just too big to share the woods with their natural neighbors. The Emerald Triangle marketing strategy should be small quantities of world class weed. It would have worked better if California had read the writing on the wall the way other states have, but better late than never.

Jamie Flower, Arcata