Illegal Marijuana Operations Are Destroying Public Lands: Could Legalization Help? AlterNet / Joshua Frank / 09,02,2011 For every acre of land where marijuana is grown, approximately 10 more acres are polluted with toxic chemical fertilizers and herbicides. It was the largest pot bust in one of the most weed-friendly states in the country. Last spring a SWAT team, with National Guard choppers hovering overhead, broke up a mammoth grow operation and confiscated 91,000 marijuana plants in Eastern Oregon. In total, the weed had a street value of over a quarter of a billion dollars. Dozens of weapons were found and six individuals were arrested. However, no doors had be to kicked in and no grow lights were hauled off during the raid. In fact, the grow operation, like an increasing number in the United States, wasn't set up in an urban building or across the border in Mexico. It was taking place outdoors on our public lands. The scene law enforcement uncovered that day in Oregon was one of ecological devastation. Several miles of plastic drip lines, piles of trash and hundreds of pounds of chemicals and herbicides were discovered in a remote part of the state's scenic Wallowa County. Dozens of trees were cut along the valley floor to bring in sunlight for the plants. The growers, who happened to be spotted by bear hunters a few months prior, had also formed well-worn pathways that meandered along a riverbed through thousands of their water-sucking plants. "Many people would be outraged at the damage to our public lands caused by illegal marijuana growers," said Sgt. John Shaul of the La Grande Police Dept. shortly after the raid. The illegal farm crew will face charges for growing pot as well as for environmental damages. Their case, maintains U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, illustrates a trend that is spreading across the country. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, for every acre of land where marijuana is grown, approximately 10 more acres are polluted with toxic chemical fertilizers and herbicides. Water diversion from streams is also intense, with an estimated hundreds of thousands of gallons of water being illegally drained from streams that may contain endangered species like salmon and trout. However, the long-term toll these farms inflict on the environment is hard to gauge. Government officials contest the pot-growing outbreak is being orchestrated largely by so-called "drug trafficking organizations" from our neighbors in Mexico. The DEA says these drug cartels' business model is to maximize profit by reducing delivery expenses. Pot smokers can then buy cheaper weed because the growers are able to avoid the costs associated with smuggling hundreds of pounds of product across the border. Fortunately for these producers, the cannabis plant can flourish in many types of conditions. All they need is some remote land with access to water and they are up and running in no time. Most of federal eradication efforts have thus far been focused on seven states: Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, with almost 60 to 65 percent of these outdoor crops being planted on public lands. In the last two years alone, law enforcement agencies across the country seized over 20 million pot plants, an annual increase of 5 million compared to 2005. Growers have expanded their growing business into other states as well, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama, Colorado and Virginia. It's not just public lands that are being used for clandestine pot farms. Last summer, owners of the Korbel Winery in Sonoma County, California were startled to find that 15 of their protected redwood trees had been chopped to the ground by trespassers who were growing over 100 pot plants on their land. To top it off, bags of fertilizer were dumped along a nearby creek. "It was sad to see those nice redwood trees down," said Sonoma County Sheriff's Sgt. Mike Raasch after looking over the wreckage. A large number of the marijuana gardens are located up and down the West Coast, with a majority sprouting up in California. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), a federal program that oversees drug enforcement across that country, reported in June 2010 that "California produces more marijuana than Mexico." Officials estimate that in 2009, California's seized plants would have had a retail value of $17.8 billion. The cost to taxpayers to clean up the razed lands where the weed was grown reached as much as $1 million per farm. The crops that provide these considerable profits are often protected by heavily armed guards. On August 28, 2011, former Northern California city councilman Jere Melo was shot and killed while investigating an outdoor marijuana-growing operation in Mendocino County. Melo was hired by a timber company to investigate reports of a pot farm being constructed on their land. When Melo and his friend got close to the farm, a man protecting the plants popped up and opened fire. While his partner was able to escape, Melo was not so lucky. In 2010 HIDTA estimated that almost 121 square miles of land was being used throughout California to grow illegal pot. As the report noted, "For every acre that is 'Impacted' (the actual growing area) there are another two to 10 aces that are considered 'Constrained.' The Constrained area is that which is marked by trails, waterlines, campsites and other areas trampled by growers ... The City of Sacramento is 97 square miles in size and the amount of area used for growing marijuana exceeds the size of the state's Capital city ... Why do the drug trafficking organizations grow so much marijuana in California? The answer is simply the demand by users and unrestrained profits." Sequoia National Park, well known for being home to some of the world's most gigantic trees, is also residence to hundreds of pot growers during the prime harvesting months of April to October. Several parts of the park are closed to visitors during this time, including the pristine Kaweah River drainage, where drug cartels are cultivating massive amounts of pot. These operations, which would place the industry high on NASDAQ if it were a single legal company, are by no means environmentally benign. "It's so big that we have to focus our resources on one or two areas at a time, because otherwise it's beyond our scope," Sequoia's special agent assigned to the ordeal, told the Los Angles Times. It is estimated that California's marijuana trade accounts for $14 billion in annual sales. Such environmental devastation has placed many marijuana advocates into one of two camps: Those who want to keep pot illegal so they can continue to profit without taxation and regulation, and those who want to legalize the plant in order to reduce these sorts of environmental impacts -- not to mention incarceration associated with non-violent drug crimes. "This kind of destruction, lack of respect for nature and the area, and elaborate scheming to hide their efforts is only possible because marijuana remains a profitable, underground drug rather than being a profitable, legal one," wrote Aaron Turpen for CannaCentral following the incident at Korbel Winery. "Legalize marijuana and then the need to hide it -- destroying old growth trees and a natural setting in the process -- goes away." Not all agree with Turpen's assessment. When Californians voted on Prop 19, the initiative to legalize marijuana in November 2010, the state's main pot-growing region actually voted against the measure. The weed-rich "Emerald Triangle" counties of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity all said no to legal pot. There is good reason why these illegal growers (not to be confused with legal, medicinal producers) embrace libertarian ideals when it comes to their bustling industry: without government involvement they can rake in millions in profit. No environmental studies have to be done and no taxes will ever be paid. The only thing these growers have to worry about is being raided by drug enforcement cops. President Obama, while admitting to have toked a little ganja years ago, has taken up Bush's hard-line stance against legalization of the herb. Recently the president dismissed any medical value of the substance, and in a 2010 Drug Control Strategy report, the White House explained why marijuana ought to remain classified as a dangerous, illegal drug: "We have many proven methods for reducing the demand for drugs. Keeping drugs illegal reduces their availability and lessens willingness to use them. That is why this Administration firmly opposes the legalization of marijuana or any other illicit drug. Legalizing drugs would increase accessibility and encourage promotion and acceptance of use. Diagnostic, laboratory, clinical, and epidemiological studies clearly indicate that marijuana use is associated with dependence, respiratory and mental illness, poor motor performance, and cognitive impairment, among other negative effects, and legalization would only exacerbate these problems." Many of those who want to see pot legalized envision a future where their drug of choice is viewed more like wine than heroin. They want to know where their marijuana is coming from and how it was grown. Many want it to be organic and eco-friendly. They may even want to visit farmers and take a tour of the crops. However, as long as weed remains illegal, they claim, ecologically damaging operations on public and private lands will only become more prevalent. Violence over market share will ensue and more taxpayer dollars will be wasted. Longtime legalization advocate, Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray, estimates that legalizing pot could save California at least $1 billion a year by reducing arrests and prosecution, with that number only increasing if other states are taken into consideration. "We couldn't make this drug any more available if we tried," Judge Gray said during the battle over California's Proposition 19. "Not only do we have those problems, along with glamorizing it by making it illegal, but we also have the crime and corruption that go along with it ... Unfortunately, every society in the history of mankind has had some form of mind-altering, sometimes addictive substances to use, to misuse, abuse or get addicted to. Get used to it. They're here to stay. So let's try to reduce those harms, and right now we couldn't do it worse if we tried."
[quote name='oltex']Illegal Marijuana Operations Are Destroying Public Lands: Could Legalization Help? AlterNet / Joshua Frank / 09,02,2011 For every acre of land where marijuana is grown, approximately 10 more acres are polluted with toxic chemical fertilizers and herbicides. I dont see any facts to back this claim up. not to mention most growers in humboldt are using organic nutrients because they are cheaper then chemicals. it seems like they are all pissed off about a few cut trees in a giant ass forest. I dont think legalization would make any difference on the so called "forest damage" if anything more growers would be growing out there if it was legal so there would be more trees cut. great article by the way.
if you go to the article one of the first comments to the article writter is: \t DocChaos 3 days ago Jushua, I'm willing to bet you were not there. Devastation is not characterized by cutting a dozen trees on large acreage. That's firewood. Nor does marijuana grown outdoors require or even tolerate "toxic chemicals". Drip lines somehow devastate the environment? No, they don't. People growing pot and living in the mountains had guns? It would be news if you found unarmed people living in any mountains. So where is the news here? Where is the reporting? You bought the whole bill of crap from a public information officer and laced it with sensationalism. It's not surprising someday someone would bust idiots who were growing pot on BLM land. That the morons grew 91,000 plants would gain them a place in the Darwin Awards had they only been bright enough to get themselves killed. Now, anyone who claims 10 acres are polluted for every acre of pot has a worm in their head or they are a city slicker cop. If I were paying you by the word I'd fire your clueless editor. I don't know a better way to put this. Next time talk to a cop, turn on your bullshit meter if you have one and go check their story yourself. Admittedly, you'll find lots of "quaint" people living in the backwoods anywhere. And there are some utter idiots anywhere. But HAZMAT is called out if you spill a few drops of oil on your driveway in the city. So try not to scare yourself if you find mold on the cheese in your refrigerator. Just think of all the selenium people are willing to drink in LA if you want to talk about pollution. But that's from legal crops so I guess it doesn't count. I advise you to avoid painting all pot growers as trailer trash playing at Dumb and Dumber get rich quick schemes, or based on the over-blown and self-serving statement of a cop trying to justify his job and inflate his ego and importance. Your article as written however, is all of those things. Try a cook book.
I can't think of one industrial farming company that uses chemical fertilizers and herbicides to grow the vegetables we consume on a daily basis. That's why organic veggies or so cheap.
sounds like a load of shit to me...trying to make us look bad.....meanwhile tons and tons of trees are being cut down for our paper use in the US...pollution is created by all the manufacturing we do and for this article to try pin our mass pollution on a public grow opt is just ridiculous. PUFFER