page_title: Environmental Effects of Illicit Drug Production
section_title: Marijuana
hierarchical_section_title: Environmental Effects of Illicit Drug Production / Environmental Impacts of Natural Drugs / Marijuana
caption_attribution_description: English: Cannabis Sativa.
context_page_description: The environmental impacts caused by the production of illicit drugs is an often neglected topic when analysing the effects of such substances. However, due to the clandestine nature of illicit drug production, its effects can be highly destructive yet difficult to detect and measure. The consequences differ depending upon the drug being produced but can be largely categorised into impacts caused by natural drugs or caused by synthetic/semi-synthetic drugs. Natural drugs refer to drugs which are primarily extracted from a natural source such as cocaine or cannabis. Synthetic drugs are produced from material that can't be found in nature and semi-synthetic drugs are made from both natural and synthetic materials such as methamphetamines and MDMA. Drug policy is a large determinant on how organisations produce drugs and thereby, how their processes affect the environment, thus prompting Government bodies to analyse the current drug policy.
context_section_description: With the ease of access to marijuana increasing due to legalisation in parts of North America and Canada many have noted the increasing importance of measuring its possible environmental ramifications. As marijuana has been previously illegal in these areas there is now an opportunity to measure these outcomes. However, there have already been a variety of known consequences caused by the production of marijuana.
  Watershed depletion is a serious issue that can be caused by marijuana production. Marijuana cultivation requires large amounts of water, where a single plant can require 8-10 gallons of water per day. This sparks concern, especially in areas susceptible to water shortages such as California. California is the largest producer of marijuana in the U.S yet has had issues surrounding water supply and sanitation  for a number of years. In 2012, it was estimated that at least 3,177,241,050 gallons of water were used in the production of marijuana in California. Thus, marijuana production can have severe implications on watershed levels with a number of organisations calling for stricter regulations as marijuana becomes more widespread.
  The production of marijuana also requires large amounts of energy due to the controlling of environmental conditions. This further causes high levels of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. "In 2015, the average electricity consumption of a 5,000-square-foot indoor facility in Boulder County was 41,808 kilowatt-hours per month, while an average household in the county used about 630 kilowatt-hours". Such high levels of energy consumption in turn, result in high greenhouse gas emissions. In 2016, it was estimated that on average the production of one kilogram of marijuana produced 4,600 kilograms of carbon dioxide. Thus, marijuana cultivation produces 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in the United States in a single year.
caption: Cannabis plant
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