An out-of-work trucker, a former record producer, and an unemployed college teacher -- these are among the folks anonymously chronicled in a Mother Jones article about how the recession has caused some humble family men to start shilling the evil reefer. In an article headlined "The New Dealers" (nudge-nudge), Tony D'Souza does a good job of finding unemployed folk who've entered the weed business at every stage of production. That unemployed trucker now grows pot in his garage; that record producer is a small-time dealer. And "Colin," that old college teacher, now drives California bud cross country, Tom Joad-style, in order to feed his family. "These are scary times," he says. "The recession came, and I started looking for other options."

The point being -- shock! -- that these guys aren't as evil as some people (and the feds) might want us to believe, but are often working stiffs with kids to support. One thing that makes today's family men looking for a new livelihoods different from their Grapes of Wrath-like forebears: back in the 1930s destitute farmers couldn't find much room to grow their crops when they went to California. Today, with the state's lenient weed laws, the out-of-luck can grow some marijuana in their homes.

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