Marijuana Growing Operations Hurting US National Parks

Mexican cartels are using America’s national forests to grow marijuana, creating “some of the most polluted pockets of wilderness” in the country, the Associated Press reported. Ron Pugh, an agent with the Forest Service, called the situation a “huge mess.” “What’s going on on public lands is a crisis at every level,” he told AP. “These are America’s most precious resources, and they are being devastated by an unprecedented commercial enterprise conducted by armed foreign nationals.” Marijuana users often don’t know what went into growing what they are smoking, said Cicely Muldoon, the park service’s Pacific West deputy regional director. “People light up a joint, and they have no idea the amount of environmental damage associated with it,” Muldoon told AP. According to the Christian Science Monitor, national parks used to be... [read full story]