Publisher’s Opinion by Martin Farrell

The loss of wildlife in Ventura County’s forest areas has been attributed to toxic residue from illegal marijuana grows deep into the wilderness. “Sheep, foxes, bears found dead after marijuana raids in Los Padres, other state forests”. (Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star). Criminal growers use many different pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers, etc, and leave containers behind after harvesting the crop. These chemicals pollute the streams, poison the wildlife, and remain toxic for years. It’s the job of the U.S. Forrest Service to discover the illegal grow sites, make arrests if possible, and do what they can to find and remove the toxic chemicals, irrigation debris, and camp trash. Access to these remote forest grow sites can usually be achieved by helicopter. This destruction of our forests is another result of America’s newly professed love affair with marijuana and the billions of dollars, and crime, it produces. We can be sure that many of the drug dealers flowing through our now open borders will have no trouble finding work in the virtually defenseless great American wilderness.