Marijuana’s hidden price: Environmental impact. (2016, October 19). Retrieved November 17, 2016, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161019173110.htm
Many Marijuana plantations are environmentally destructive. They often cause runoff which can pollute creeks and affect fish. The runoff is known to affect two endangered fish species already in Northern California. Now that Marijuana is becoming legalized many people are afraid that more plantations will become environmentally destructive. Currently there is little research on the extent of the environmental impact to many Marijuana plantations being illegal. California residents are pushing to have more research on the impacts of Marijuana growing and to have stricter control of both legal and illegal plantations. This could have effects on the new growing laws that are being put in place.
Now that Marijuana has been legalized many plantations could become legal. This however may not help the environmental impacts unless strict controls are put on them. They need to be closely monitored about what fertilizers they use and how much water they take. Currently many plantations are illegal and in remote areas where farmers have dammed creeks, built irrigation and destroyed habitats to grown Marijuana. This should be stopped with stricter control on legal plantations. If they adhere to these stricter controls the legalization of Marijuana could have positive environmental impacts.
I agree completely with your position here Reed. Hopefully with legalization will come regulation. Those illegal growing operations, often on public land, are obviously not so concerned with the Clean Water Act and things like that, but more so on not getting busted. Do you think illegal operations will still continue now that marijuana has been legalized… and here comes big agriculture. Will Monsanto eventually own all the pot seeds?
This is really ironic. You would think that the government would take this into consideration, however that did not seem to be the case. The common people are ignorant when it comes to the environment, and now the creeks will get even more polluted.