Environement

How will legalizing marijuana affect our environment?

Marijuana farms on public lands in the northwestern United States have been linked to deaths of area wildlife including bobcats, mountain lions, and minks.
From 2006-2011 grow sites in California initiated fires which burned a confirmed 93,535 acres and cost $35 M to suppress.
In California, grow sites contain massive amounts of fertilizers, herbicides, rodenticide pellet, DDT, and other pesticides, all of which run off into streams/rivers and impacts fish and other aquatic species.
Water consumption is also an issue when it comes to environmental impact, with each marijuana plant said to need between 3 and 5 gallons of water per day to grow to fruition.
In California, the top-producing state, indoor cultivation is responsible for about 3% of all electricity use or 8 % of household use.
Using Humboldt Growers Association's estimate that each plant requires about 6 gallons of water per day, with a 150-day growing season from June through October, Bauer calculated the total amount of water used from each watershed.

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