Nation: Pot Shots in California

Guard dogs, wired fields and a crop that blows the mind

By their rude patches in the remote valleys of California stand embattled small farmers defending pot that is known around the world for its high quality: sinsemilla (a Spanish-derived word meaning without seed), an unusually potent hybrid marijuana. Ever since Mexico began widespread spraying of its pot fields with the herbicide paraquat, cutting shipments to the U.S., sinsemilla has become one of California's fastest growing—and most profitable—crops. California's pot patches range from small gardens with a few plants to 2½-acre fields that...