A seedy set of farmers is poisoning California’s wilderness. Pristine mountains have been marred by diesel runoff, scattered litter, clear-cutting, and dead wildlife. Streams have been sucked dry to feed a ravenous plant. Sloppily installed generators have caught fire and spread their flames to the surrounding wild. The culprits: illegal marijuana growers. Since large-scale growing needs to be done far from the eyes of suspicious police, psychotropic agriculturalists don’t need to abide by even the skimpiest environmentally friendly regulations to sate their lust for profits. So if you’re in the market for bud, make sure to ask your dealer if he’s buying organic. Nicole Edmison over at Terrain has the full story. —Brendan Mackie
