High time for conservation: adding the environment to the debate on marijuana liberalization
Date
2015-08-01
Authors
Carah, Jennifer K.
Howard, Jeanette K.
Thompson, Sally E.
Short Gianotti, Anne G.
Bauer, Scott D.
Carlson, Stephanie M.
Dralle, David N.
Gabriel, Mourad W.
Hulette, Lisa L.
Johnson, Brian J.
Version
Published version
OA Version
Citation
Jennifer K Carah, Jeanette K Howard, Sally E Thompson, Anne G Short Gianotti, Scott D Bauer, Stephanie M Carlson, David N Dralle, Mourad W Gabriel, Lisa L Hulette, Brian J Johnson, Curtis A Knight, Sarah J Kupferberg, Stefanie L Martin, Rosamond L Naylor, Mary E Power. 2015. "High Time for Conservation: Adding the Environment to the Debate on Marijuana Liberalization.." Bioscience, Volume 65, Issue 8, pp. 822 - 829. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biv083
Abstract
The liberalization of marijuana policies, including the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, is sweeping the United States and other countries. Marijuana cultivation can have significant negative collateral effects on the environment that are often unknown or overlooked. Focusing on the state of California, where by some estimates 60%–70% of the marijuana consumed in the United States is grown, we argue that (a) the environmental harm caused by marijuana cultivation merits a direct policy response, (b) current approaches to governing the environmental effects are inadequate, and (c) neglecting discussion of the environmental impacts of cultivation when shaping future marijuana use and possession policies represents a missed opportunity to reduce, regulate, and mitigate environmental harm.
Description
License
Copyright © 2015, Oxford University Press. This article is available under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license and permits non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.