This is a small and very tightly-knit community.
Crime is low, there are a lot of trees and parks, and the unemployment rate is close to zero. I love it here, and will never move. Every Spring the town hosts a series of festivals and outdoor activities. This year we 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 provide free cannabis seeds to any customers who asked for them. During the Spring Festival, everyone would bring in the cannabis plants they grew for a judging. The best plant won a huge gift card for the cannabis dispensary, but since everyone walked away with free cannabis plants, everyone was a winner! Being such a small, rural town meant that many people were against the new cannabis dispensary when it first opened. They believed the presence of cannabis would encourage crime, which we 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 great 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 think it’s better for the community if an amateur won the cannabis growing competition.