Recent testing and studies have showed that the drug can often contain pesticides as well as pathogens, including mold, mildew, E. coli and Salmonella. A study published in the Journal of Toxicology revealed that as much as 70 percent of the pesticides present in marijuana may be inhaled when the drug is smoked. These hazards are in addition to historically high THC levels and lower than normal levels of cannabidol, the chemical thought to give marijuana therapeutic properties.
While marijuana has become legal in several places, legislation regulating its production and safety is still catching up to legalization movements. And because it is still illegal at the federal level, the EPA has not created any regulations relating to which chemicals may be used to grow marijuana or their proper storage and usage. Using more concentrated forms of marijuana, such as hash oil also concentrates any pesticides in them, making the contaminants, often banned for human consumption by the EPA, that much more potent.
Particularly in states that have legalized recreational marijuana use, there has been an increase in production of marijuana extract, usually called hash oil, in the past few years, causing concern among law enforcement personnel, as discussed in a recent piece by USA Today and one from its affiliate, Statesman Journal. Hash oil is made by pouring a solvent (often butane) over marijuana leaves. The mixture is then heated, to evaporate the solvent. Users like this process because it allows them to create the much more THC-potent oil from what otherwise would be unusable parts of the plant. The potential danger comes from the fact that butane sinks; it is heavier than air and will descend, where stove pilot lights or even the motors in refrigerators can ignite it. People also store hash oil in their refrigerators, where the butane continues to evaporate, which can create flammable build-ups of the solvent.
In addition to its explosive potential, hash oil often has residual butane, as well as the lubricants used to ensure butane moves smoothly through lighters. It can also often contain pesticides (which are more concentrated than when found in marijuana that is smoked), and plant waxes that may be safe to eat but are not considered safe to inhale. Plus, even in most places that allow recreational marijuana use, it is still illegal to produce hash oil. A recent profile by BuzzedNews provides an in-depth discussion of the drug’s potential hazards.
More than one recent scientific study has found that chemicals used in the illegal cultivation of marijuana are having harmful consequences on animals in the surrounding areas (see links to these studies below). Many people growing marijuana use pesticides to protect their crops from harmful insects and other pests, as well as fertilizers and other chemicals, thereby increasing their crop yields. These harsh chemicals, however, are not only hazardous to insects but to humans and the environment as well. In addition, these growers are not only using these chemicals without proper authorization, they often use chemicals that are not approved for use in the United States.
Many of these pesticides and fertilizers can leak into soil and water supplies, and many pesticides leave traces of chemicals in plant products. In the case of marijuana, people can breathe in as much as 70 percent of these remaining chemicals when smoking plants grown with pesticides. Using these chemicals can also create toxic runoff (runoff is the flow of water over land, usually because the soil cannot absorb it quickly enough). These streams carry the polluted water to other areas, killing off insect life in those places in addition to those near the marijuana crops and throwing off ecosystems. Other animals (and people) using these streams and rivers for water are also harmed by the chemicals that end up in them.
Another issue to keep in mind is that toxins pass up a food chain. Most of the forest animals whose deaths scientists have connected to marijuana grows were not poisoned directly, rather they were affected by eating animals that had been. These toxins pass on to each animal that consumes another that has been exposed. This has the potential to eventually cause these chemicals to enter the human population, most likely via hunters eating whatever game they have killed.
Marijuana production can have several adverse effects on animal habitats and populations. Illegal growers often use pesticides, insecticides, and rodenticides, which can kill more than just the intended targets. Rodenticides have been especially harmful, particularly in national forests in California, where the Pacific fisher has become a threatened species in part due to a drop in its population linked to incidents of the animals eating other animals who have been poisoned by rodenticides.
These chemicals kill not only the intended species but also other animals that consume the poisoned animals or the poisons themselves. Besides the Pacific fisher, the illegally used chemicals are killing off rodents native to the forests, as well as larger animals; a game warden found a black bear and her cubs convulsing after having apparently consumed pesticides. Evidence of them has been found in many other species, including spotted owls and foxes. Because carnivores subsist by eating other species, they will eat animals that have suffered chemical poisoning, passing the poison up the food chain, with each subsequent predator; it is even possible that these chemicals could make their ways into humans this way.
Fish are also being noticeably negatively impacted by illegal marijuana production. As noted in the post on illicit water use, marijuana is a very water-intensive plant to grow and growers often illegally divert water for their crops. This can use enough water to actually cause streams to run dry and many of California’s rivers are running at very low levels, made worse by the fact that the state is in the midst of a severe drought. These dry conditions are endangering fish species that live and breed in the state’s streams and rivers, as well as undermining its projects to revitalize certain fish species. Many other animals depend on these water sources, so they are also threatened by this high water use.
Dr. Mourad Gabriel has done a lot of research on the repercussions marijuana grows have on wildlife populations; visit his organization’s website to learn more.
For more detailed reading: http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10287
Growing marijuana indoors requires very large energy inputs. A 2012 study estimated that marijuana growth in the United States accounts for one percent of the country’s energy use; that’s $6,000,000,000 worth of energy! In states with particularly high production, marijuana energy use is even higher; California’s is estimated to be three percent of the state’s total energy use. Producing one kilogram of final product indoors generates 4600 kilograms of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of 3,000,000 cars. Most of this energy goes to the lights necessary to stimulate the plants’ photosynthesis. But it is also needed for climate controls (heating and cooling, depending on the season) and dehumidification, among other uses. This problem is compounded by the fact that because growing inside provides more stable conditions, marijuana farmers are able to increase the number of harvest per year, further increasing overall energy use per year.
The photo above, and more illustrated statistics on marijuana’s water and energy use, can be seen in this Mother Jone’s piece.
THC levels in edible marijuana products have become a significant hazard of marijuana use, particularly for new users. Over time, the average level of THC in marijuana has increased (see article). On top of this, people have become more adept at distilling more concentrated THC out of the plant, particularly by making hash oil. This can be very dangerous for people ingesting marijuana, especially if they are not very familiar with it, because they may consume more than intended.
For frequent users who have built tolerances for the drug, ingesting something a little stronger than they are used to isn’t such a big deal. But for people who have never used marijuana, or only use it infrequently, these concentrated forms can be dangerous. Side effects can include hallucinations, panic, paranoia, and short-term depression. In more serious cases, THC can impair breathing and heart functions. In a recent story, New York Times reporter Maureen Dowd relayed her own experience with these side effects. She writes that she tried a marijuana candy bar, and when she felt no effects, ate a little more. She then “lay curled up in a hallucinatory state for the next eight hours” and “was thirsty but couldn’t move to get water. Or even turn off the lights… was panting and paranoid, sure that when the room-service waiter knocked and [she] didn’t answer, he’d call the police.” In her follow-up piece Dowd says that the founder of Marijuana.com contacted her to say that stories like hers are increasingly common.
While Dowd’s story fortunately ended without consequence, there have even been reports of people killing themselves or others after consuming far more THC than they realized, and there are increased reports of children unknowingly eating, and being sickened by, harmless-looking edible marijuana products. Edible products containing marijuana are also often not labeled as to their THC content or what appropriate serving sizes should be, increasing the likelihood of ingesting more than intended.
