Pot, pain and profit: A desert town turns to cannabis for jobs and an alternative to painkillers

As the first city drivers hit on their way into California on Route 66, Needles was once a thriving tourist town in the desert. But for 25 years, the city’s population has been falling and the economy faltering. Now, Needles is betting on marijuana to revitalize its future with hopes of becoming “the Emerald City of California.”May 10, 2019