There are several arguments for and against legalizing marijuana but few stop to examine the environmental impact of marijuana. Environmental problems often come from unexpected places. In Canada belching and flaggelation by the tens of thousands of Canadian cattle have been found to emitting dangerous levels of methane (620,000 tons) that is actually depleting the ozone layer (skeptics should consult this week's US News &WR).
In the same way smoking the weed has been found in the Netherlands to cause harmful emissions of a chemical called MTE, which is found in flame retardents. This chemical interferes with the abilities of plants to photosynthesize and was documented in having devestating effects on the ancient elms in Amsterdam, of which only a few remain. This actually led to a crisis in the tulip industry. At first few knew why tulips yields were declining until high amounts of MTE were found in them. Farmers used even more fertilizer to meet their quotas. These chemicals seeped into the high Dutch water table, leading to massive die offs of birds and fish in the coastal area. Luckily, MTE has not yet been shown to cause cancer in humans.
When one adds this to the fact that a legal marijuana trade would put even more acres of of fragile rainforest and unspoiled earth under the plow the environmental consequences become frighteningly apparent.

posted by Matthew Schmitz   [6:53 PM]

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