This is a small and genuinely tightly-knit community, crime is low, there are a lot of trees and parks, and the unemployment rate is close to zero.
I prefer it here, and will never move, but every Spring the neighborhood hosts a series of festivals and outdoor activities. This year my pal and I have an added wrinkle, something that has never happened before. This is the first year that cannabis has been legal in this state, and a newly-opened dispensary wanted to host their own gardening competition. They would supply free cannabis seeds to any customers who asked for them, and during the Spring Festival, all the people would bring in the cannabis plants they grew for a judging. The best plant won a big gift card for the cannabis dispensary, but since all the people walked away with free cannabis plants, all the people was a winner! Being such a small, rural neighborhood meant that many people were against the modern cannabis dispensary when it first opened. They believed the presence of cannabis would encourage crime, which my pal and I all knew wouldn’t happen. Seeing is believing, and after a few months, the locals began to accept the cannabis dispensary as a legit business. This marijuana growing contest is another superb step in integrating with the community, and I hope they make it an annual tradition. I did not participate in the contest this year, only because I have been growing cannabis plants at home for the last few years. It would feel like cheating, and I know it’s better for the community if an amateur won the cannabis growing competition.