Secret growers are taking advantage of the state’s remote stretches of public land—and the environmental impact is severe. In the gray half-light of dawn, eight figures creep through the dry pine forest near Quincy, California. Seven of them wear camo uniforms bearing the logos of various government agencies: U.S. Forest Service, National Guard, California Fish…
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — An alarming increase in the use of a highly toxic and banned pesticide at illegal marijuana farms hidden on public land in California is leading U.S. and state officials to team up on an issue that recently divided them: pot. They announced Tuesday that they will use $2.5 million in federal money…
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But not to worry – when pot farms go legal these stellar operators see the light of green environmentalism and immediately convert their practices to holistic, organic methods – they switch to ginger and rosemary instead of these chemicals. Researchers and U.S. authorities are finding what they say is an alarming increase in the use…
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today, federal, state, and local leaders joined with experts to highlight the devastating damage that illegal, public-land marijuana grows do to our national forests, the wildlife who inhabit them, and the streams and waterways that flow through them. Making the announcement today were U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott; U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest…
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Dennis Mills peered over his shoulder at the green hills below, where marijuana farms dotted the Calaveras County landscape. “There’s another one!” he told the pilot with a laugh. The Cessna doubled back so Mills, a county supervisor, could steal a second look at a slope where trees had recently been removed. From above, Mills…
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EDITOR: What is it that people who report on marijuana don’t understand about the vote in 2016? Pretty much everyone I know voted to decriminalize the use of cannabis and private grows. No one envisioned the booming industry that is attempting to insert itself into our local lifestyles. Not one person would have imagined an…
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Pot businesses rush to fill Santa Rosa industrial buildings “A group of New York investors with a $30 million real estate fund recently visited the area looking to buy properties for industrial and agricultural cannabis businesses”, said Sherri Haskell, founder of Sausalito-based CannaAngels investment firm, who helped the New York group make local connections.” Full…
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Editor’s Note Most everything about the current Pot growing situation in Sonoma County is transitory. Over medium to long term prices will drop and the small growers will be pushed out by big Pot, the new version of Big Tobacco. So when you advocate for pot growing in Sonoma County, you are advocating for big…
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the only ones getting rich are the marijuana industry. State governments and society lose money whenever pot is legalized. Whether it is costs to employers, increases to social service costs, the rise in homelessness or the regulatory system created to manage the marijuana program, the marijuana industry doesn’t pay these costs. Instead, we all pay:…
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High Time for Conservation: Adding the Environment to the Debate on Marijuana Liberalization The liberalization of marijuana policies, including the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, is sweeping the United States and other countries. Marijuana cultivation can have significant negative collateral effects on the environment that are often unknown or overlooked. Focusing on the state…
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