Marijuana grows leave environmental damage

[Nonno]

"WENATCHEE — Rat poison, malathion, garbage bags filled with waste and miles of PVC piping.

These are just a few of the items left behind after people growing marijuana illegally on public lands either harvest their crops or flee when law enforcement discovers them, officials say.

It's not just the garbage. Public lands are torn up and dramatically changed at these pot-growing sites, where those who tend them live out in the woods for months at a time. They terrace hillsides, divert streams, build man-made ponds and cut down saplings for shelter or cover.

In one operation on the Colville Indian Reservation, drug enforcement agents found remains of a dead moose, killed and likely eaten by those tending the grow.

"At one of the larger grows, they had completely diverted a stream. That's very common, and it pretty much kills everything downstream," said Colville Tribal Police Commander Mark Duncan.

Law enforcement officials say they're most concerned about the safety issues — possible confrontations between growers and hunters, hikers or bicyclists who happen upon their multi-million dollar crops.

But the environmental consequences of turning forest land into remote farms is also a huge issue, officials say.

"This is not about growing a few plants," Duncan said. "If you live in the woods for three months, you're going to leave a lot of trash, and they don't pack it out like good campers."

In Chelan and Okanogan counties so far this year, drug task forces have found and removed about 70,000 marijuana plants from 14 large growing operations. Five were in Chelan County in the mountains above Chelan, Leavenworth and Entiat. There were also four in the Methow Valley, and four on the Colville Indian Reservation. Efforts to find and remove more plants are continuing. A total of seven people have been arrested — two in Chelan County and four in the Methow Valley. All of the suspects have been Mexican nationals, officials said. One is a juvenile."

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[ve2dict]

maybe if it was legal they would take better care to clean up . im sure it being illegal they were probably in a hurry and what not

[JoeMac]

Originally Posted by ve2dict

maybe if it was legal they would take better care to clean up . im sure it being illegal they were probably in a hurry and what not

Agreed, if it was legal they wouldn't have to do it on Federal land. It will come with time, prohibition only lasted so long too. The war on drugs has been a total flop and a major tax dollar waster, we need to find a better solution.

[ovred]

Originally Posted by JoeMac

Agreed, if it was legal they wouldn't have to do it on Federal land. It will come with time, prohibition only lasted so long too. The war on drugs has been a total flop and a major tax dollar waster, we need to find a better solution.