WEAVERVILLE, Calif. (Reuters) - Pollution from illegal marijuana farms deep in California's national forests is far worse than >previously thought, and has turned thousands of acres into waste dumps so toxic that simply touching plants has landed law enforcement officers in the hospital.
The volume of banned or restricted pesticides and illegally applied fertilizers in the woods dwarfs estimates by the U.S. Forest Service in 2014, when a top enforcement official testified that the pollution was threatening forest land in California and other states.
California accounts for more than 90 percent of illegal U.S. marijuana farming, with much of it exported to other states from thousands of sites hidden deep inside forested federal land, and more on private property, law enforcement officials said. The state is still developing a licensing system for growers even though legal retail sales of the drug will begin next year, and medical use has been allowed for decades.
Hmm, no regulation on these pot farms because it's illegal to grow. It sounds like California has two options, either put tougher regulations on the pesticides and fertilizers used to grow Marijuana and piss off the farmers and gardeners in the process or they could just make growing Marijuana legal so people can grow it out in the open and the government can regulate it the same way they regulate other crops.
Legalizing would solve a ton of problems too like crime related to growing Marijuana, the pollution problem, health effects from smoking or eating marijuana that's had pesticide sprayed on it, more tax revenue for the state, etc. Seems pretty common sense but are politicians smart enough to actually do it? That's the big question.
Empty butane cans used to grow marijuana
Source: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/toxic-waste-u-pot-farms-alarms-experts-100944016.html