Pesticides from illegal marijuana farms are seeping into California’s water supply, with the toxic chemicals putting humans and animals at risk.
Chemical runoff off of illegal marijuana farms are having huge consequences on California, as the pesticides can infect local water supplies and pose great health hazards, Reuters reported Thursday.
Farmers of illegal cannabis farms frequently use fertilizers and pesticides such as carbofuran and zinc phosphide, both of which are banned in the United States. The state of California accounts for 90 percent of illegal marijuana farms in the country.
“Carbofuran is in the water, and it’s not supposed to be,” said Mourad Gabriel, an ecologist who specializes in marijuana contamination issues. “How are we going to mitigate something like that?”
Some of the effects of carbofuran poisoning include headaches, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and even death, according to research from the National Institute of Health.
Carbofuran can be so deadly that just one-eighth of a tablespoon can kill a bear, said Stephen Frick, the assistant special agent in charge of Forest Service law enforcement and investigations for the Pacific Southwest. Some law enforcement officers were even hospitalized after accidentally touching plant leaves on the farms.
California officials are in the process of introducing legislation to regulate illicit marijuana farms, but water testing is usually left out of the restrictions.
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