Marijuana or cannabis is a sensitive issue to many. While I seldom oblige a “hit” when offered as a gesture of friendliness or diplomacy, I don’t consume it at all. But I digress. Here is part of an article on Sierra, 2017 issue, that is part of the reason why I don’t thumbs-up (unregulated) marijuana growth.
ON public lands, drug cartels and other criminal organizations have built enormous, well-guarded plantations in remote areas, covering the land with trash and irrigation pipes and contaminating it with pesticides. Growers have exacerbated California’s historic six-year drought by diverting water from headwater streams and springs in the summer and fall, when flows are weakest. Each marijuana plant consumes about six gallons of water per day. That can have major effects on seasonal streams, which salmon rely on. Water demand from Emerald Triangle* marijuana grows often leaves streams there completely dry.
*The Emerald Triangle is a region in Northern California that's known as the largest cannabis-producing area in the United States. The region is made up of three counties that form an upside-down triangle: Humboldt County on the coast, Trinity County inland, and Mendocino County to the south. 🍀🎍🪴
Photo: USDA.
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