- llegal marijuana farmers have been leasing or buying land to grow cannabis in Oregon.
- The illicit growers in Oregon have been leaving behind garbage and drained water resources.
- To tackle the pollution and water abuse, the Oregon Legislature has passed a bill that would make landowners themselves responsible for the aftermath.
Oregon has long been known as a mecca for high-quality marijuana, but that reputation has come with a downside: illegal growers who offer huge amounts of cash to lease or buy land and then leave behind pollution, garbage and a drained water table.
Now, a bill passed by the Oregon Legislature seeks to tackle that by making the landowners themselves responsible for the aftermath. The bill also prohibits the use of rivers or groundwater at the illegal site, as well as criminalizes seizing the identity papers of migrant workers who tend the plants or threatening to report them for deportation.
Under the bill, local governments are authorized to file a claim of lien against property used for illicit marijuana, if the owner doesn’t pay for the cleanup.
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Sean Hocking
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