Marijuana plants can use six gallons of water a day each. Growers are illegally siphoning water from streams and turning areas into toxic waste dumps. Streams are drying up, threatening salmon and other wildlife. It’s out of control. In some areas, local juries won’t convict. The simple (and only) solution is to legalize marijuana completely.
At raided sites, authorities have found widespread damage, including miles of irrigation lines, propane tanks, and rat poison and other toxic chemicals that end up in streams.
Bauer said it was common to see marijuana growers driving pickups with water tanks. And he said state officials last summer had chased down reports of trucks with 5,000-gallon tanks siphoning water from already-low rivers