Interesting and well sourced story on the increased use of National Parks for growing marijuana and the resulting environmental damage. It would have added to the story to know how much ranger time is spent on this problem and if their budget has been increased. Interesting that illegal pesticides are reportedly smuggled into the country but not marijuana. Worth reading.

Ominously, this article mixes hard facts with estimates and opinions, without emphasizing the differences between these sources of information. In paragraph 3, official government statistics are given on the number of grow sites and plants eradicated by the government. But the author pivots ambiguously from these facts about grow sites to speculation about the pollution caused by this activity. This interpolation between statistics and speculation happens several more times throughout the article. I am certainly not claiming that Ms. Cone is making up facts, or that marijuana production does not pollute. But this article gives the improper impression that this phenomenon is well-documented and quantified. In reality, it seems ... More »

This was very interesting and makes me want to read other articles about it. There are a lot of good statistics. It would have been interesting to hear statistics on how the plants and animals have been affected since Cone included the quote "People light up a joint, and they have no idea the amount of environment damage associated with it," said Cicely Muldoon.