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When going green is dirty: Colorado's indoor cannabis farms produce 30% more greenhouse emissions 03/13/2021	A model of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from indoor cannabis cultivation across the US. Depending on the region, indoor cultivation results in between 2,283 and 5,184 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilogram of dried flower. In the five years after Colorado legalized recreational marijuana, indoor cannabis cultivation went from 1 percent of Denver's electrical consumption to 4 percent green house, Environment, Electricity
What does science say about smoked marijuana 02/09/2019	smoking, Environment
Owls Dying Near Marijuana Farms (Here's Why) 01/12/2018	New research reveals that several species, including the northern spotted owl, are succumbing to rat poison from thousands of "unpermitted private marijuana grow sites" in the northwestern California counties of Humboldt, Mendocino and Del Norte. It's the contamination of the owls' primary food source — mice and rats, which, like humans, are attracted to the aromatic crop — that has been the animals' undoing: Scientists from the University of California, Davis, and the California Academy of Sciences have detected traces of anticoagulant rodenticide in seven of the 10 northern spotted owl carcasses they collected, according to a study published today (Jan. 11) in the journal Avian Conservation and Ecology. california, Environment, Owls, animals
Colorado politicians ignore major pot problems 01/11/2018	Hickenlooper, Gardner, and other politicians tell us everything is rosy, but that's not what we hear from educators, cops, social workers, doctors, drug counselors, parents, and others in the trenches of the world's first anything goes marijuana free-for-all. It is not what we see in the streets. Condit said the black market invading Colorado's national forests has grown so large the entire budget for the Pike and San Isabel forests would not cover the costs of removing and remediating cartel grows in the forests he helps supervise. Colorado, Environment, crime
MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS MAY USE LEGAL MARIJUANA TO TAKE OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA 01/10/2018	A team of law enforcement agents from the U.S. Forest Service, local police and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hike deep into the Plumas National Forest to help with cleanup and protect scientists who are studying illegal marijuana grow sites. Even after a site has been raided, growers can return. The nets are for helicopters that will lift tons of garbage out of the site. On this reclamation trip, teams ultimately cleaned up about 7 tons of garbage, 4,000 pounds of fertilize, and 4 miles of irrigation tube, and they found the carcasses of three black bears, one grey fox and several rodents and birds. This accounts for just four sites. 14,000 Pounds of Rodenticide Hours north of Calaveras, deep in public forests along the California-Oregon border, 12 tons of plastic trash, thousands of pounds of fertilizers and more than 80 pounds of toxic rodenticides and pesticides lay strewn among towering pines and oaks—turning this Eden into a landfill. california, Black Market, Environment
Marijuana Eradication: Pot growers stealing water 12/11/2015	"During this time of drought, San Diegans should be concerned that our water is being stolen for a criminal enterprise." Environment, Water, california
24 Mind-Blowing Facts About Marijuana Production in America 11/28/2015	Infographics, Environment, motherjones
Marijuana grow houses trigger 7 summer outages for Pacific Power 11/06/2015	"What most people don't realize is that growing marijuana is a very intense power use," Roger Blank, the utility's director of safety, said in a statement. Using older, less-efficient standard lights to grow four plants is akin to running 29 refrigerators, he said. Environment
Marijuana-growing spikes Denver electric demand, challenges clean-power plan 07/10/2015	Citywide electricity use has been rising at the rate of 1.2 percent a year, and 45 percent of that increase comes from marijuana-growing facilities, Denver officials said Wednesday. Colorado-0, denver, Electricity, Environment
PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE CRIME BEHIND THE EMERALD CURTAIN 06/29/2015	Trespass grows are large-scale operations, with plant counts numbering anywhere from 1,000-80,000, and they are largely funded and operated by drug trafficking organizations. They are uniformly conducted with flagrant disregard for environmental and social well-being. The use of these chemicals causes toxic contamination in all aspects of the ecosystem. After these chemicals are dispersed from grow sites and leeched into the soil and water supply, they slowly make their way through the entire food chain. From insects to scavengers to birds, smaller animals to bigger ones, evidence of chemical contaminants from trespass grows is being discovered. Environment, california, grow sites, chemicals
2nd lawsuit claims unfair San Diego pot laws will cause undue pollution 08/15/2014	Business, Environment, zoning
Study finds medical pot farms draining streams dry 06/01/2014	Wildlife biologists noticed streams running dry more often over the 18 years since the state passed Proposition 215... “We knew people were diverting water for marijuana operations, but we wanted to know exactly how much,” said Scott Bauer, the department biologist who studied the pot farms’ effects on four watersheds. “We didn’t know they could consume all the water in a stream.” california, Water, Environment
Colorado's unregulated marijuana grow sites persist despite legal 'green rush' 05/23/2014	Down in Colorado's Front Range, the cluster of towns and cities that cling to the eastern edge of the Rockies, the scent of what has been dubbed a commercial “green rush” is hanging in the air – literally. On the road in from Denver airport, several of the state's estimated 800-900 legal growers have taken advantage of cheap warehouse space to open sophisticated indoor facilities, whose odour is clearly discernible by passing motorists. Environment, Colorado-0
Study shows medical marijuana grows drying local watersheds 05/09/2014	An aerial view of a medical marijuana grow. Researchers used both satellite and field studies to determine how many grows and plants were in four local watersheds. (Submitted by California Department of Fish and Wildlife Scientist Scott bauer) Environment, Water, california
24 Mind-Blowing Facts About Marijuana Production in America 04/01/2014	"The only thing green about that bud is its chlorophyll." Environment, Growers, Electricity, grow sites, Water, traffic
The carbon footprint of indoor Cannabis production 04/17/2012	This article estimates the energy consumption for this practice in the United States at 1% of national electricity use, or $6 billion each year Environment, Electricity