Toxic waste from U.S. pot farms alarms experts

[Common]

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.
Ecologist Mourad Gabriel, who documents the issue for the Forest Service as well as other state, local and federal law enforcement agencies, estimates California's forests hold 41 times more solid fertilizers and 80 times more liquid pesticides than Forest Service investigators found in 2013.
Growers use fertilizers and pesticides long restricted or banned in the United States, including carbofuran and zinc phosphide. In previous years, it was commonly sold fertilizers and pesticides that were used illegally, law enforcement officials said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-us...-idUSKBN1AM0C3

[Bo-4]

The illegal pot farms in California will disappear once all states legalize.

Then maybe you can go back to the "what about the children!" talking point? ;-)

Rates of marijuana use among Colorado's teenagers are essentially unchanged in the years since the state's voters legalized marijuana in 2012, new survey data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment shows.

In 2015, 21 percent of Colorado youths had used marijuana in the past 30 days. That rate is slightly lower than the national average and down slightly from the 25 percent who used marijuana in 2009, before legalization. The survey was based on a random sample of 17,000 middle and high school students in Colorado.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.7aa5027d9472

[Mini Me]

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.
Ecologist Mourad Gabriel, who documents the issue for the Forest Service as well as other state, local and federal law enforcement agencies, estimates California's forests hold 41 times more solid fertilizers and 80 times more liquid pesticides than Forest Service investigators found in 2013.
Growers use fertilizers and pesticides long restricted or banned in the United States, including carbofuran and zinc phosphide. In previous years, it was commonly sold fertilizers and pesticides that were used illegally, law enforcement officials said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-us...-idUSKBN1AM0C3

Sure, this happens. But it is overblown propaganda by the anti-pot crowd, mostly DEA!

[Ethereal]

Common, almost every problem you highlight with regards to the manufacture and distribution of marijuana is attributable to drug prohibition.

[Adelaide]

Although illegal growing operations will probably always exist, regulation and legalization would go a long way to making most operations unnecessary. Something that legalized stores have going for them is that they can offer a wide variety of fairly high-quality goods. If I wandered into DC and decided to buy some pot because I have headaches, I would be able to buy specific products and strains. Whereas when I smoked pot as a teenager, there was no guarantee in quality and sometimes it was laced with other drugs (like PCP).

[Bo-4]

Common, almost every problem you highlight with regards to the manufacture and distribution of marijuana is attributable to drug prohibition.

He's like Jeff Sessions: Not particularly informed and a laser-like focus to ramp up the Reefer Madness goofery.

[resister]

Guess who the majority of growers are? Illegals who camp for the growing season, often armed. If you hike in Cali, better watch your step. Would not surprise me if many were cooking meth on site, too!

[Tahuyaman]

He's like Jeff Sessions: Not particularly informed and a laser-like focus to ramp up the Reefer Madness goofery.

Wow. A hard partisan on an Internet message board says that the AG of the United States is uninformed.

[resister]

Yeah, lets give illegals amnesty so they can do this on public lands!

[donttread]

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.
Ecologist Mourad Gabriel, who documents the issue for the Forest Service as well as other state, local and federal law enforcement agencies, estimates California's forests hold 41 times more solid fertilizers and 80 times more liquid pesticides than Forest Service investigators found in 2013.
Growers use fertilizers and pesticides long restricted or banned in the United States, including carbofuran and zinc phosphide. In previous years, it was commonly sold fertilizers and pesticides that were used illegally, law enforcement officials said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-us...-idUSKBN1AM0C3

Like a dog with a bone you are . Solution. Organic pot. Problem solved.