The U.S. economy has gone to pot, but in one Northern California county, it’s gone to pot. Get the difference?

This NPR report from Humboldt County will enlighten you. California’s liberal medical marijuana law has created boom times in a traditional marijuana mecca, where the trade in this federally illegal drug is conducted out in the open, to the delight of customers and pot entrepeneurs. “Without weed, this county would go belly up,” says one participant. But some locals are focusing on the social costs.

Related post: If marijuana were legal: Projected revenues by state (EconomyBeat)