In the Cascade Mountains here in the northern part of the state, thousands of mostly illegal pot farms dot the lush evergreen forests—many using pipes and other equipment to siphon water for their crops even though few have rights to do so, said Marc Pelote, code enforcement officer for surrounding Shasta County.
Just last month, Mr. Pelote said, sheriff’s deputies discovered an unattended, 10-horsepower generator along a creek that was pumping water to four pot farms. “You can stop them one day, and they’ll put in another the next day,” he said. “They don’t care. It’s all money, money, money.”
The problem, while not seen as a major issue in the state’s broader drought emergency, is a byproduct of a boom in marijuana production in California amid a nationwide movement toward legalization. California legalized marijuana for medical use in 1996, while pot for recreational use has been legalized in Alaska, Colorado and Washington and Oregon over the past three years. A petition for a 2016 ballot initiative on legalizing recreational use is circulating in the Golden State.
