While their grow operations are usually restricted to between 5 and 10 acres, according to the National Park service, “for every acre of forest planted with marijuana, 10 acres are damaged.” In other words, the adverse effects of remote Cannabis cultivation reach far beyond the borders of the plots in which the plants are grown. An isolated water source is essential for the success of the marijuana plant to produce market grade buds. Mendocino County Sheriff, Tom Allman, claims that “one marijuana plant requires approximately one gallon of water per large plant per day,” meaning that a typical remote grow site can consume approximately 7,000 gallons of water each day over a period of three to four months. This makes water diversion no simple task. Finding a reliable water source that is available year round is especially crucial because the growing season occurs during the summer months. Ideal water sources include springs, creeks, and small bodies of water that do not dry up even during the hot California summers. Cultivators enact a variety of methods to exploit water sources high in the watershed, some of which include makeshift dams, cisterns, storage tanks, on-site reservoirs, and gravity based PVC pipe flow systems. These systems are built to utilize gravity-based pressure to extract water from natural or man-made pools. The water is then transported through PVC pipes to cultivation sites. These water diversion systems connect water sources to marijuana plants up to four miles away. The resources that cultivators possess to build these extensive systems include shovels, pumps, sheets of plastic, tarps, string and large quantities of PVC piping. Other necessities are extracted from the nearby environment and include logs, rocks, clay, brush, and moss.

One site in Carmel contained a makeshift cistern that was dug out, lined with black plastic, and held in place with rocks. Water flowed from the cistern through the 1.5 miles of piping and dropped 700 feet in elevation en route to the site. Once water reached the grow site,vertical growing weed the large PVC fed into progressively smaller tubing that connected drip irrigation lines to each plant. This system utilized control valves to prevent over watering and to regulate watering schedules. In the case of small operations, the water is sometimes stored at the site in large plastic lined reservoirs or large storage tanks. The water is then pumped from the reservoir on regular schedules through drip irrigation lines in quantities that optimize growth. Water diversion practices create adverse effects for humans and the environment alike. When the natural flow of water from springs or ephemeral creeks is modified, the preexisting flora and fauna that rely on it are deprived. As surface level water disappears, riparian vegetation and animals have limited access to the water that they depend on. More seriously, keystone fish species die from degradation and loss of habitat. The death or removal of keystone species from ecosystems creates a void that affects the entire food chain. As one species cannot sustain its diet, it dies off, leading to the death of other species that predate upon it. Water diversion practices significantly impact human society as well. The state of California has abundant water resources that are necessary to sustain its vast population, economy, and natural environments. Though the overall fresh water supply from precipitation is immense, the public demand for fresh water far exceeds the natural supply. The consequence is that California is effectively experiencing a water crisis resulting in agricultural drought, economic and natural devastation, and limiting water availability for California residents. Water diversion practices for marijuana cultivation serves only to further exacerbate the issue during the most critical drought months.

Water flow assessments estimate that an average of 650,000 gallons of water goes unaccounted for in California every day throughout the year.Estimates of unaccounted water during the summer months can reach numbers as high as 3.6 million gallons per day.This over consumption depletes groundwater resources causing lowlands to subside below sea level, rivers to dry up, and salt water from the ocean to intrude and contaminate California’s primary fresh water source the Sacramento San-Joaquin River Delta. Changes in water quantity cause the temperatures, pH, and salinity of lakes, rivers, and canals to increase. These decreases in water flow and reductions in water quality reduce the amount of viable breeding habitat for the sustenance and restoration of aquatic species. The direct correlation between water consumption and marijuana bud production creates a large incentive for marijuana cultivators to heavily irrigate their crops. Remote cultivators extract water in mass quantities, blatantly “degrading the public water trust because they are divorced from the foundation of [American] laws.”Due to the illegal status of marijuana cultivation, growers experience limited liability for their diversion practices within the state of California, because they are outside of the realm of institutional oversight. Their access to water is difficult to obstruct because they extract water from the top of watersheds. Thus, they act in disregard for human communities, flora, and fauna that depend on reliable sources of fresh water. When Cannabis cultivators exploit over-extended water supplies, California is forced to extract increasing amounts of water from the Colorado River and other sources, for which the citizens of California and other areas foot the bill. As in industrial agriculture, chemicals are applied in order to create plants that are fast growing, develop specific desired traits, and have an optimized yield.

For the Cannabis plant, this means maximizing bud production, increasing THC levels and preventing any damages from deer, rodents, mites or mold. An average cultivation site of about 5 acres and 7,000 plants can contain 20 pounds of rat poison, 30 bags of fertilizer, plant growth hormones, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and a variety of other chemical inputs.60 The key difference between industrial agriculture and marijuana cultivation is that Cannabis cultivators are not subject to government or industry regulations. DTO’s import banned chemicals from Mexico which they apply in unrestricted amounts, causing extensive harm to the laborers and to the ecosystems exposed. It is estimated that 1.5 pounds of fertilizer is used for every 10 plants. Excess nutrients not taken up by plants are washed into lakes, rivers, streams and the ocean during periods of precipitation. These fertilizers cause nutrient imbalances with varying effects. Residual toxic compounds “enter and contaminate groundwater, pollute watersheds, kill fish and other wildlife, and eventually enter residential water supplies.”61 The marijuana mono-cultures that Mexican DTOs create are especially susceptible to damage and infestation, causing cultivators to take preemptive measures to protect their plants. Four of the foremost threats to Cannabis plants are mold, mites, rats and Deer. Cultivators spray sulfur dioxide and pesticides directly onto Cannabis plants in order to combat mold and mite problems. Excess sulfur gas and sulfate particles diffuse into the atmosphere, high exposure to which can cause respiratory effects in humans and animals ranging from shortness of breath to respiratory diseases and premature death. In the environment, sulfur dioxide is the leading source of haze in national parks. More importantly, sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere leads to acid rain that “damages forests and crops, changes the makeup of soil, and turns lakes and streams acidic which causes unsuitable” conditions for aquatic life. Acidic precipitation occurs in the form of rain, fog, snow, and particulates that can travel in winds for hundreds of miles, causing damage to plants, buildings, and monuments along the way. One of the most notable chemicals that is used to combat mite infestations is Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane . DDT was banned in the United States in 1973 after scientific research led to public outcry over its adverse effects on human health and the environment. DDT can persist in the environment for up to fifteen years because it binds to soil and bio-accumulates in plant materials and the fatty tissues of animals such as fish and birds.DDT is a carcinogen that damages the nervous system ,pipp shelving reduces reproductive success, and causes cancer to the liver. Despite the known health hazards posed by DDT, people throughout the world have been subjected to acute exposures through food consumption and inhalation. Another commonly used pesticide is Malathion, which is a synthesized organophosphate insecticide. When Malathion enters the environment it has little harmful effects because it is broken down rapidly by bacteria in soil and water, and by UV radiation when it enters the atmosphere. However, direct “exposure to high amounts of Malathion can cause difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, blurred vision, sweating, headaches, dizziness, loss of consciousness, and possibly death,” all symptoms which are most likely to be experienced by on-site laborers who do not wear proper respiratory protection. The methods that cultivators use to apply chemicals are especially hazardous. At best, cultivators wear long sleeves, pants, and thin polypropylene masks as protection, all of which are inadequate for preventing significant exposure to chemical toxins. Laborers use hand held spray systems to administer chemicals in liquid or gaseous form. They are subjected to concentrated chemicals for prolonged periods, causing high rates of exposure through inhalation and contact with clothing and exposed body parts. However, cultivators are not the only group risking exposure through direct contact. Chemical residues can persist on marijuana buds, resulting in exposure when buds are consumed. Another threat to marijuana plantations is that “marijuana stalks are very appetizing to deer and rodents that chew the stalks of the plants.”To combat this problem, growers use rat poison pellets to kill rodents, and rifles to kill large mammals.

Chemical repellents and poisons are applied at or near the base of the Cannabis plants and around the perimeter of plantations to kill rats, deer, and other animals that could cause crop damage. “The poison kills the animals close by, and when the bodies decompose,” these poisons enter into the water table and contaminate soil and wildlife that come into contact with the polluted water.Contaminants accumulate in small biotic creatures, which are then eaten by larger animals causing progressively concentrated levels of toxins within the tissue of large predators. Ultimately, this can lead to the death of large animals and the consumption of toxins by humans. Sustained inhabitance at remote locations is one of the crucial distinctions between outdoor marijuana cultivation sites operated by Mexican DTOs and those operated by other groups. Mexican nationals inhabit sites over a period of three to five months in order to prepare the landscapes, maintain plants, and aggressively protect their plantations. On average, two to five people live on the site throughout the season while a total of ten to fifteen actively aid in supplying materials and preparing grow systems. These men ensure that the site is properly equipped, concealed by camouflage, and guarded against detection and seizure. They plant marijuana in areas where the sunlight reaches through the holes in the trees, but the tree cover is sufficient to obstruct the view of plants from an aerial perspective. Cultivators cut down trees strategically in order to let in more sunlight while maintaining obstruction to aerial detection. They then spray green spray paint and other colorings on stumps to mask the reflectivity of freshly cut wood. In more exposed areas, marijuana is sometimes interspersed with legitimate commercial agriculture to prevent visual detection. In addition, inhabitants paint camouflage patterns and netting to hide camp equipment and tents that do not blend in with the natural environment. Cultivator concern for concealing their activity is limited to arboreal camouflage. Inhabitants contaminate sites by littering the ground with garbage including cook ware, stoves, empty propane tanks, extendable pruning saws, excess plastic irrigation hose, tarps, beer cans, plastic wrappers and many other forms of refuse. Dug out latrines contain months worth of excrement and excess chemicals. In Sequoia National Park in 2007, the California Army National Guard and the California Air National Guard cleaned up resident-camp infrastructure from 11 grow sites and 9 camps that were occupied by growers. In this effort they removed 5,600 pounds of garbage, including 75 propane canisters and 5.8 miles of irrigation hose.68 In addition to leaving trash, some cultivators construct and leave fences around cultivation plots. They build deer fences that are 6-10 feet tall around planted areas with standard chicken wire, cattle fence, plastic netting, or livestock wire. These fences act as barriers to faunal migratory pathways and tangle animals in the netting or micro-filaments.