Fiction: Drug Production Does Not Damage the Environment
Fact: The cultivation and production of drugs has harmful effects on the environment.
One of the most overlooked aspects of the illegal drug trade is how drug cultivation and production the cost of drug production destroy the environment. Illegal drugs have a far-reaching impact on the environment, including:
- Destruction of U.S. National Forests for marijuana growing
- Dumping of hazardous waste byproducts of meth manufacturing into the water supply
Illegal drug production damages forests, streams, rivers, and wildlife. If you think drug use isn’t harming anyone, think twice.
Coca and Opium Production in South America
Coca and opium plant cultivation production and cocaine manufacturing have a tremendous impact on the environment of South America. Studies have shown that as much as one quarter of all of the deforestation that has taken place in Peru in modern times is associated with clear-cutting and burning for planting coca bushes.
The Colombian government estimates that between 1988 and 2008, about 2.2 million hectares of rainforest (about 8,500 square miles)—an area roughly the size of the state of New Jersey—were lost to drug production. One hectare of coca field requires four hectares of forest to be cleared.1
Methamphetamine Damage in the United States
Although meth production in the United States has decreased due to chemical restrictions and law enforcement efforts, meth production continues to cause serious environmental harm.2
The very toxic chemicals used to make methamphetamine include lye, red phosphorus, hydriodic acid, and iodine. One pound of finished meth results in 5-6 pounds of hazardous waste byproducts.3 These chemicals are often dumped into the ground near a laboratory, contaminating the local water.
Marijuana Cultivated in U.S. National Forests
The illegal growth and cultivation of marijuana has destroyed and contaminated thousands of acres of public lands. To plant marijuana, growers chop down trees and burn off plants, destroying natural wildlife habitats. The pollution continues when toxic pesticides, fertilizers, and insecticides seep into creeks and municipal watersheds.
Mexican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups are growing large amounts of cannabis in U.S. National Forests.
According to the USDA Forest Service, the number of marijuana plants eradicated from national forests more than quadrupled between 2004 (718,447 plants) and 2008 (3,079,923 plants).4
What Law Enforcement Is Doing
The good news is that law enforcement has eliminated many meth labs and large marijuana cultivation operations on public lands, decreasing the amount of available drugs. The number of methamphetamine lab seizures decreased dramatically from 10,037 in 2004 to 3,564 seizures in 2008.5
Source Information
1 "Cocaine Use 'Destroys Rainforest'," British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 2008
2 "National Drug Threat Assessment 2008," National Drug Intelligence Center, October 2007
3 "Utah Department of Health," Resource Guide to Methamphetamine Decontamination, 2008
4 "Domestic Cannabis Cultivation Assessment," National Drug Intelligence Center, 2009
5 "National Seizure System," National Drug Intelligence Center, 2009