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1. 

   I witnessed back in the late sixties and early seventies where the California Poppy was actually being pulled out by the roots and people were being fined for having them growing in their yards. All because some public official thought the California Poppy was the same poppy that opium is made from. At the same time nutmeg was taken off the shelfs because people were smoking it. There was also talk of taking bananas out of the markets too because people were drying and smoking the inside of the peels. It was a crazy time for sure and drug abuse was running rampant but to think someone could be so negligent and stupid as to pretty much wipe out the California poppy population (our state flower) based on such horrible misinformation. Soon it was realized that this was a mistake but it only took a few years to cause the damage. Seeds were then added to fire retardant when fire fighters were fighting the many wild fires that California is known to have. Where we would get a little bloom was in the areas of these fires. then we had serious droughts here in southern California for years and the flowers barely would appear at all. Now with a record rain the hills are beginning to look like I remember them in my youth. Stunning fields of poppies appearing where there have been fires. Many have never seen these kinds of viewing before because they were born after the mas attempt to destroy the flowers. What I find most interesting is there is no information about this horrible mistake taking place at all. A pretty complete cover up. I knew people who got fines and I witnessed people in the hills being paid to dig up the flowers. I remember going to the market trying to get nutmeg for my mothers eggnog recipe, only to be told it was outlawed because it was being used as a drug. I am now 72 years old and I remember these things. Now 50 years later some of the hillsides are beginning to look like they use to when I was a kid. I am very grateful and hope and pray that no one will ever be that stupid again.

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   By: Nancy Jeanne LaMorte on March 24, 2019
   at 7:13 PM

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