Scientists say California medical pot farms are draining streams

Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

Scientists say California medical pot farms are draining streams
(Image credit: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Here's another topic of discussion for the "to legalize or not to legalize" debate.

Biologists in Northern California say medical marijuana farms are guzzling up water from adjacent streams and rivers, The Associated Press reports. Using Google's satellite map imagery, scientists were able to identify where exactly the pot gardens are located in relation to nearby river systems; they found that nearly 30,000 plants are being grown in each of four affected watersheds. While the study's authors say each plant uses about six gallons of water per day over a 150-day growing season, some of the farmers claim those estimates are way too high.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.