Pubdate: Sun, 26 Oct 2014
Source: Bulletin, The (Bend, OR)
Copyright: 2014 Western Communications Inc.
Contact:  http://www.bendbulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/62
Author: Charlie Burr

LEGALIZE MARIJUANA TO PROTECT FORESTS FROM ILLEGAL GROWS

Oregon is home to some of the most beautiful forests and natural 
areas anywhere on the planet. It's time to protect them from illegal 
marijuana cultivation that trashes our public land, harms wildlife 
and endangered species and dumps toxins into our rivers and streams.

As Oregonians fill out their ballots, they should join the Oregon 
League of Conservation Voters and others fighting for a healthier 
environment by voting yes on Measure 91, a common sense approach to 
regulating and taxing marijuana production.

 From Umatilla to Siskiyou, our forests face a scourge of unregulated 
marijuana harvesting operations that threaten some of our state's 
most special places. In fact, last year saw law enforcement uncover 
illegal marijuana grow sites in 72 national forests spanning 22 states.

In 2011, officials found 91,000 marijuana plants worth roughly $180 
million growing in Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, the largest grow 
operation in Oregon's history.

Beyond the eye-popping scale, the operation highlighted the enormous 
environmental cost of unregulated, illegal marijuana cultivation. Law 
enforcement uncovered more than 500 pounds of fertilizer, as well as 
nasty pesticides and herbicides banned in the United States. Growers 
had doused their plants with "super-toxic" rodenticides that not only 
kill rodents, but also slowly poison their predators, including the 
endangered northern spotted owl and Pacific fisher.

Miles of plastic tubing littered the site as growers diverted stream 
water for irrigation. Nearby streams designated as sanctuaries for 
endangered steelhead saw sediment, pesticides, fertilizers and solid 
waste dumped into the water.

In addition to the obvious wildfire danger, illegal growing 
operations threaten public safety. The growers on the Wallowa-Whitman 
site were armed with pistols and an Uzi - one of the reasons that 
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's number one warning to 
hunters is the danger of stumbling onto an outlaw grow site. That's 
unacceptable.

These lands belong to all of us. It's time to protect our natural 
heritage for current and future generations by driving these illegal 
operations off our public lands and wild places.

Measure 91 would remove incentives to hide marijuana cultivation in 
national forests and would nearly eliminate these rogue operations. 
Nobody risks a felony conviction to grow tobacco on federal land, 
because tobacco is regulated and legal. But as long as marijuana 
remains illegal, dangerous marijuana operations will pollute our 
forests and threaten sensitive habitat.

Marijuana prohibition puts our forests at risks, but for what? During 
the past two decades, youth marijuana use hasn't decreased. Each 
year, we spend millions enforcing harsh marijuana laws while 
diverting law enforcement from more violent crime.

Oregonians with felony marijuana convictions struggle to find 
employment, housing and a shot at a better life. The nearly 13,000 
marijuana arrests and citations in Oregon each year simply aren't 
worth the costs to our forests, streams and wildlife.

Oregon doesn't have to accept the environmental or societal price we 
pay for this failed policy. We can do more to protect taxpayer land 
from threats to wildlife, water quality and public safety - starting 
with reclaiming our forests from the epidemic of illegal grow 
operations. Let's regulate and tax marijuana production and put an 
end to these destructive operations.

There's a broad and diverse coalition of senior advocates, labor 
organizations, business leaders and parents calling for sensible 
reform. The Oregon League of Conservation Voters supports Measure 91 
as an important step in the broader fight to protect forests and public lands.

Vote yes on Measure 91 for a healthier environment and strict, smart 
controls on marijuana cultivation.

Charlie Burr

- - Charlie Burr lives in Portland.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom