News outlets report Siskiyou County in California has declared a local emergency due to toxins from illegal pesticides used at illegal marijuana grow sites.
EPA officials say the crisis is “part of an international criminal enterprise” and that some of the illegal pesticides imported from China are the same chemicals used as “nerve gas agents in warfare” that can attack a person’s respiratory and nervous systems.
Even after legalization, California still struggles with a black market dominated by international drug cartels.
The DOJ has said organized crime from Mexico and China may be making millions of dollars from illegal marijuana in California, Maine, New York, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.
Besides being a criminal enterprise, these illicit marijuana operations often pollute the environment and jeopardize public health.
Authorities in states like California, Maine, and Oregon routinely seize illegal pesticides at massive marijuana grow sites.
Unfortunately, marijuana products often carry serious health risks from pesticides — even when they are manufactured legally.
The marijuana plant itself easily absorbs toxins in the soil as well as chemicals or other substances sprayed on the plant. As a result, marijuana may contain pesticides, heavy metals, mold, or other contaminants.
These toxins are passed along into marijuana products — posing serious health risks for marijuana users.
Last year the Wall Street Journal reported that studies have found marijuana users have higher levels of heavy metals in their blood and are more likely to develop fungal infections. These toxins can cause serious — or even life-threatening — illnesses.
Research continues to underscore that marijuana is dangerous.
Researchers have found marijuana users are twice as likely to die from heart disease.
Heavy marijuana use has been linked to psychosis — especially among young men.
All of this underscores what we have said for years, marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
