Boycott Ganja

BOYCOTT GANJA Alas, it seems there's actually a real reason not to smoke marijuana. There's a threat to America's forests, and it isn't the logging industry. It's dope growers. It seems that tighter border security since 9/11 has driven drug cartels onto protected wild lands, like Sequoia National Park, where they log, plant pot, spill pesticides and herbicides, divert water from creeks, trample everything in sight, leave trash and then take their harvest to the streets. The Los Angeles Times reports that growers are using protected public lands on an agri-business scale, destroying tracts of otherwise untouched wilderness. While the feds are sending armed agents into the forests, they are vastly outnumbered and fighting a losing battle. A bust in one part of one park results in operations sprouting up somewhere else, spreading the environmental damage and compounding the problem. Talk about a buzz kill. What if that joint in your hand was filled at the expense of a giant sequoia that had stood proud and tall since before the Pilgrims landed? What if countless furry critters were poisoned to harvest your herb? What if the fish in a creek first choked on chemicals and then drowned in the cruel air because their water was siphoned off to nurture your dope? What if your bud is not so kind? The solution is clear. Just as the tuna industry was forced to tell consumers which brands were dolphin-safe during the '80s, so the marijuana industry should now be forced to tell buyers which keys are forest-safe. Dealers can tuck little labels inside their baggies that read, "No trees or forest creatures were harmed in the growing of this ganja." Of course, the problem with this is that no one who sells dope wants a paper trail. The guy down the hall who sells it to you bought it from someone who wants to remain anonymous. Why? Because the Bush administration is waiting to bust his ass and send him to Club Fed. So here's another solution: Put the crooks who cut down sequoia trees out of business by making marijuana legal.