Uncle Sam Is Helping Illegal Pot Producers Destroy California's Water Supply

[SkatmanRoth]

Uncle Sam Is Helping Illegal Pot Producers Destroy California's Water Supply

Heavy rains in California in recent days have partly alleviated the drought that parched the state in January. The dry spell is merely exacerbating a long-developing problem in northern California, however: The huge volumes of water used to grow marijuana, as well as the noxious fertilizers and pesticides gushing into streams, are pushing local watersheds to their breaking point.

…but the “green rush” is putting a strain on the land

It hasn’t always been a cash crop. The Emerald Triangle’s cannabis growing dates back to the 1970s, when a wave of liberal activists settled there, dropping out of society to go “back to the land.” They found the terrain unusually ideal for growing cannabis. But they grew it alongside other garden produce, seldom in any large scale—and rarely destructively (these hippies were some of the framers of the modern US conservation movement, after all).

The water cost is a biggie. A single plant of marijuana needs about six gallons (22.7 liters) of water per day to grow. That means industrial grows need between 12,000 and 30,000 gallons of water per day.
This has exacerbated the water crisis…
The dry summer months happen to be the peak of the April-October pot-growing season. Conscientious growers—typically, long-term residents—invest in tanks to gather and store water during the winter, when it rains more. Unethical growers irrigate by damming streams and using diesel pumps to suck water to their sites. They also tend to pump runoff fouled with dangerous fertilizers and pesticides back into the water supply.

It is a long article with more at the link
http://www.govexec.com/technology/2014/02/uncle-sam-helping-illegal-pot-producers-destroy-californias-water-supply/78776/?oref=river

[arcane1]

1. Reason #5,296 to re-legalize it. n/t

[OnlinePoker]

2. Something doesn't seem right about this.

Marijuana is closely related to hemp and every report I've seen shows that hemp production needs only a moderate of water and little to no pesticides and fertilizers to grow. In fact I keep reading that hemp is an excellent way to rejuvinate soil. Would the same not apply to pot? Am I missing something here?

[Politicalboi]

3. 6 gallons a day????

That would kill a plant like it would kill a person.