On October 23, a 21-year-old woman drove through a California neighborhood and rear ended a cyclist riding in front of her. The cyclist died at the scene, but the driver survived. Police detected the strong smell of marijuana in her car.
Police charged the driver, Korina Machuca, with DUI and vehicular homicide. Detectives in Fresno County say they’ve seen a rise in drug-related crashes. Last year they had 54 drug-related crashes, but this year 141 crashes involved drugs.
Tracing bicycle deaths of 3 children and 5 adults killed by marijuana-impaired drivers shows how justice for victims is reduced after marijuana decriminalization and legalization.
Is the Marihuana (Hemp) Movement a drug initiated, drug-driven movement?
By Jeanette McDougal A report by Congress’s research arm concluded that the legalize marihuana (Hemp) movement “has largely been spurred by… Jack Herer [high-profile marijuana advocate], who released an updated version of his book, Hemp and the Marijuana Conspiracy: The Emperor Wears No Clothes, in 1990.” [Jean M. Rawson, CRS Report 92-510, “Growing Marihuana (Hemp) for Fiber: Pros and Cons.”]
High Times, a militantly pro-drug magazine, agrees. The April 1995 issue says, “Jack Herer’s book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, has been instrumental in reviving interest in hemp and has helped create the grass-roots movement for marijuana reform,” [i.e., legalization]. Continue reading Marihuana (Hemp) – A Drug Driven Movement?→
Marijuana farms are fouling the ecosystem and draining energy and water resources in states that have liberalized their marijuana laws. Governor Jerry Brown blames California’s wildfires on climate change, but he ignores marijuana, the biggest cause of environmental damage to his state. The environmental damage in California alone will be in the billions of dollars. This will be more costly than Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster.
Dr. Mourad Gabriel is the executive director of the non-profit Integral Ecology Research Center, based in Blue Lake, California. He studies endangered wildlife. When high levels of toxic rodenticides were first found in dead wildlife, it set off alarm bells, but Dr. Gabriel couldn’t figure out the source of the poison. At a scientific conference, he learned that drug cartels were setting up illegal marijuana farms in wilderness lands.
Illegal Marijuana Grows on Wilderness Lands in Siskiyou County as seen from Google Earth
As he now leads investigations deep into the forest to locate and shut down these dangerous operations, he needs to wear kevlar, a protective body armor. One of the marijuana gangsters poisoned and killed Gabriel’s dog a few years ago, trying to scare him away. See the article in The Atlantic, Illegal Pot Farms are Poisoning California’s Forests.
Losing our Water and Natural Resources
These environmental travesties threaten America’s pristine natural wonders near Mount Shasta and Lake Tahoe. One former California resident warns that wilderness hikers can be in grave danger if they happen upon one of these illegal grow sites. Pot growers and other squatters are armed and will shoot to protect their activities.
The growers use poisons to protect their plants which in turn kill wildlife. One small mammal, the fisher is an endangered species at risk from these toxic chemicals.
These illicit growers are using a banned pesticide carbofuran, which is so potent that one eight of a teaspoon will kill a 300 pound bear. Forest rangers are finding the poison strewn around the forest floor in Vitamin Water bottles.
These operations have also had the effect of eradicating the salmon population by diverting of billions of gallons of water a year out of California streams. The drought returns , but Californians will blame it on something other than a skunky plant that produces no food.
During California’s worst wildfire season ever surely that water would have been useful to the firefighters.
And, as to energy usage, California is about to legalize recreational marijuana, and greedy entrepreneurs are converting old warehouse space into indoor grows. These indoor marijuana facilities are known to use a tremendous amount of electricity to power the grow lights. See this article in the Guardian: Pot is Power Hungry.
In a society that prides itself on ‘going green,’ we must think carefully about the negative impacts of commercializing the plant that causes more environmental damage than any other. States like Massachusetts, Vermont and New Jersey should consider these environmental hazards. It is not too late to reverse the damage.
While Gov. Brown did not criticize marijuana for environmental damage, he was clear about the brain damage. Sean Parker donated big to his re-election campaign, and his mind changed.
Governor Jerry Brown poses as an environmentalist on the national stage while enabling his own state’s environmental destruction. Money and pro-pot journalists kept Californians in the dark about the environmental disaster of marijuana, but the governor knew the truth. Governor Brown could have spoken out against Prop 64, but he honored a favor from his reelection in 2014.
Governor Brown spoke eloquently against marijuana on Meet the Press, on March 2, 2014. Four days later, Sean Parker and his wife donated $81,600 to Brown’s re-election campaign. The governor immediately abandoned a safety bill which would have limited the THC allowed in drivers to 2 ng.
Parker donated $9 million to the cause of California’s legalization campaign of 2016, even more than George Soros’ $4 million. The campaign was full of “dark money” hidden in secret groups, but included at least $12 million of marijuana industry donors. While Governor Brown didn’t come out for or against Prop 64, he could have used his environmental conscience to advocate “No.”
(Marijuana was involved crashes that killed in least 3,000 people in California over last 15 years.) Now California will legalize without a suitable measure of driving impairment.
Butane Hash Oil Labs are a Byproduct of Marijuana Commercialization
On the first day pot was 100% legal in California, three men in Humboldt County celebrated their marijuana freedom by extracting butane hash oil (BHO) from marijuana. Their actions sparked a fire. Helicopters airlifted the injured men to UC Davis Hospital because their burns were so extensive. It is rumored that two of the men died.
Car fire in Arcata, on November 2, 2016. There have been 5 BHO fires in the same county, Humboldt, since the vote to legalize on November 8
Wasn’t legalization going to solve these problems? No, because “wax,” “shatter,” “budder” — the products made from BHO and sold in dispensaries — are more expensive than homemade stuff.
On November 2, seven days before pot became legal, a BHO fire exploded a car in Arcata, CA. A similar fire on January 14, 2017, totaled a home near Arcata in Humboldt County, injuring two people. It was the fourth BHO lab discovered in Humboldt County since legalization. (The photo above is from a car fire in Arcata on November 2, 2016.)
