GOVERNMENT: Humboldt County threatened cannabis fines. They were growing peaches and tomatoes.

The Neukoms themselves had to think fast. Their daily farming grind went on the back burner as they spent time providing proof to the county that the property in question carries no cannabis plants.

At night, the couple worried aloud to each other, not about the peaches and tomatoes they grow, but whether the county would accept their proof over the false accusation.

“I told the county, ‘I think we’ve been caught up in a dragnet when we weren’t supposed to be,’” Jacques Neukom said. “Just because you have a driver’s license doesn’t mean you get a speeding ticket. And just because I have a greenhouse in my backyard doesn’t mean I’m growing cannabis in it.”

He added that the county staff were “very professional” in handling the process. But the implications of being flagged for illegal cannabis stretch past the burden of proving innocence.

What a mess.