patrick.net

It's going to get ugly in California before the torrential rains return and wash more coastal cliff side mansions into the Ocean.

weeklystandard : "(for that, the state would also have to jettison its ruinous almond addiction)."

Money crops take water?

Cool man.......

But the rainbows are so beautiful when you're stoned, man!

zzyzzx says

PhD in Nutritional Ethnomedicine

Translation: Bullshit Vitamin / Kava Juice / Acai Berry salesman

In all seriousness, growing marijuana, especially the indoor growing with UV lamps that creates "fake sunshine", is NOT a "green" business. It is a terrible waste of electrical energy. In fact, there is some data in the linked article, and I quote:

Indoor growing is also rough on the environment; roughly 9 percent of household electricity use in the state is used for marijuana cultivation, reports Evan Mills of the Lawrence Berkeley National Library.

That is just plain crazy. *** 9 percent ***. My goodness, get those potheads some outdoor growing permits already.

zzyzzx says

Marijuana Plants Soak Up Billions of Gallons of Water in California

That's the weakest ass argument against marijuana ever. It's such a lame argument that it warrant looking at the source's front page, and a cursory glance at The Weekly Standard's root web page makes it obvious that the site is a right-wing propaganda machine. Like most propaganda machines, it's not even subtle in its attempt to bash everything Democrat and laud everything Republican.

But anyway, the implied argument is that pot is now bad because it makes people jump out of buildings, it causes brain damage, it's a gateway drug, high drivers are getting into crashes, it supports terrorism, it uses up too much water. This argument is complete, disingenuous bullshit.

Agriculture uses 80% of California's water supply, and producing what you eat can require a surprising amount of water and that's not including growing marijuana. The next highest usage is watering those lawns whose ridiculousness is illustrated in the following picture. If you live in a desert, you shouldn't expect to have a green lawn.

The water used to grow pot is utterly insignificant in contrast to each of these two things.

I would like to present a comparative water usage analysis. From the article:

"Unfortunately, a reliable count hasn’t been done in years, but back in 2006, there were approximately 17.5 million outdoor marijuana plants in the state. (That number has almost certainly skyrocketed since, given that the DEA has eased its enforcement, but we’ll be conservative and use the old number.) Meanwhile, one outdoor marijuana plant requires approximately six gallons of water per day during its roughly 150-day growing season. That means that, over California’s four-year drought, outdoor marijuana plants -- based on the six-gallon a day estimate, and the 2006 figure -- have used roughly 63 billion gallons of California water. "

That means ~16 billion gals (16 Bgal) of water per year goes to Marijuana growing. How does that compare to the amount of water used on golf courses? Well, glad you asked. Look at this reference, page 16: http://thinkwater.okstate.edu/workshop-presentations/OKWaterConservationPresentation_BrianCloud.pdf .The reference says the total water usage for golf courses in the Pacific region (CA,OR,WA) is 30 Bgal/year. So I say marijuana is a significant water user but the originally linked article is typical shoddy journalism that does not look at the whole picture, and based on an agenda-driven press release.

In summary, the electricity consumption by indoor marijuana growing is a much more significant environmental problem than the water usage.

HUMOR SECTION:

Time for some slightly tongue-in-cheek suggestions to reduce water and energy usage:

1. golfers should stay home and smoke pot instead

2. golf courses should be converted to outdoor marijuana farms. What's not to like? Everyone gets to "eat local", and frustrated golfers that hit their ball into the weeds can find solace among/with some marijuana buds,

Disclaimer: I am not and have never been a marijuana smoker (and I also did not have sex with THAT woman).

Yep, there would be a lot more water left if all the golfers would just smoke pot and play put-put on their phones instead. And I also have never smoked pot and I wouldn't even if it were legal and free. I smelled it once at a concert and it was disgusting. Of course, that may have been the smell of the old Boomers smoking it.

You would have to be a brainwashed nitwit, to blame this on pot.

The market demands pot. Bad and inefficient government regulations, force the hand of pot growers to hide out, indoors, in water strapped areas.

If the bad government regulations were removed, and hemp and mmj decriminalized, the problem would solve itself . The demand in the market could be remedied by any other avenues of supply. Backyard gardens, landscaping, potted plants, window containers, greenhouses using solar, etc.

errc says

If the bad government regulations were removed, and hemp and mmj decriminalized, the problem would solve itself . The demand in the market could be remedied by any other avenues of supply. Backyard gardens, landscaping, potted plants, window containers, greenhouses using solar, etc.

But beware of Monsanto getting in on the game with genetically engineered MJ plants.

Meanwhile, one outdoor marijuana plant requires approximately six gallons of water per day during its roughly 150-day growing season.

Citations, please

errc says

Bad and inefficient government regulations, force the hand of pot growers to hide out, indoors, in water strapped areas.

They could get their pot from rain soaked east coast locations instead.

Yes, but high people are too stoned to drink, so winner!errc says

Meanwhile, one outdoor marijuana plant requires approximately six gallons of water per day during its roughly 150-day growing season.

In the experience of a friend of mine, this is absolute rubbish.

errc says

The market demands pot. Bad and inefficient government regulations, force the hand of pot growers to hide out, indoors, in water strapped areas.

Yep, we need less regulation in the narcotics industry. Why are conservatives so anti-free-market and so anti-small-business?

Because big government statists, hate freedom, Dan.

Where's your wife DAN!
I was so much better at baseball than her Pa!

In the experience of a friend of mine, this is absolute rubbish

Please allow him some time to cite, or retract the statement

Otherwise he should adjust his math to reflect reality (90 days, 90 total gallons)

CaptainShuddup says

Where's your wife DAN!

Some of us are too smart to fool for that trap.

Mankind's Innate fear of death leads people to use intoxicating substances in an attempt to relax and step outside our neurotic selves. If we solved the immortality puzzle, people wouldn't have to take solace in some righteous bud, we wouldn't have the demand to grow it, and california would have more water to grow almonds.
Q.E.D.