Scientists say California medical pot farms are draining streams
Uriel Sinai/Getty Images


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
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.
Still, biologists first noted the streams running dry more often 18 years ago — the same time California passed Proposition 215, which legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We knew people were diverting water for marijuana operations, but we wanted to know exactly how much," says Scott Bauer, a department biologist studying the effects. "We didn't know they could consume all the water in a stream."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
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.
-
Are private schools safe from Starmer?
Today's Big Question Schools would pay VAT under Labour government but party scraps plans to remove charitable status
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Sam Bankman-Fried: crypto on trial
Talking point The implosion of FTX may go down as one of the biggest financial frauds in American history
By The Week Staff Published
-
Fernando Botero obituary: artist of 'whimsical rotundity'
Obituary Colombian painter and sculptor was known for his 'exuberant style'
By The Week Staff Published
-
Russian lunar spacecraft crashes into the moon
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Hurricane Hilary bringing unprecedented storm warnings to Southwest
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
NASA fully restores contact with Voyager 2 spacecraft
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
The US just banned most incandescent light bulbs, and few people even noticed
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
NASA loses contact with Voyager 2 probe
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published
-
20 dead and 27 missing after lethal downpour in Beijing
Speed Read
By Theara Coleman Published
-
Biden keeps U.S. Space Command in Colorado, reversing Trump move to Alabama
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Scientists revive 46,000-year-old worm that was frozen in permafrost
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published