Smoking weed, coke, climate crisis: why drug use is ecological terror

The world’s population lives beyond its means. We have already reached Earth Overload Day at the end of July. The summer of 2023 in particular has shown what the climate crisis really means. Numerous natural disasters have struck almost every corner of the earth. Thoughts about climate-damaging emissions often revolve around the transportation sector, large industrial factories and global supply chains. Less often visible: the often illegal side of the global market. Drugs.

Because illegal addictive substances have a huge impact on the ecosystem. And the solution to this problem, says Angela Me at a press conference when Watson asked about it, is extremely complicated. I am head of the United Nations Drugs and Crime Investigation Division. Because even if the cartels were stripped of their power, addictive substances produced during their production would still harm the environment.

The Amazon region in particular, for example in Colombia, but also many other nature reserves in the world suffer from the cultivation of plants used for the production of narcotics. For example, coca bushes, from the leaves of which cocaine is obtained.

These are mainly found in the Amazon and the Andes. For the regions concerned, this means that rainforests are being cleared to create drug plantations. Experts estimate that a quarter of Colombia’s annual felled rainforest falls victim to coca plantations. Since 2014, the area under coca cultivation is said to have increased more than fivefold. According to Quarks, it was about 200,000 hectares in 2020. So more than twice as big as Berlin.

The production of cocaine places an additional burden on animals and the environment, because the leaves are sometimes processed directly in the rainforest after harvest. This is done by processing them with gasoline, sulfuric acid, potassium permanganate, sodium hydroxide and acetone. Because cocaine production is illegal, there are no disposal standards. In most cases, the chemicals simply end up in nature, endangering biodiversity in the jungle.

Transport contributes to the impact on the environment. Because the cocaine from South America has to be distributed to the rest of the world somehow.

The cultivation of poppies is also problematic, for example on large plantations in the desert of Afghanistan, but also in Myanmar and Mexico. The opioid heroin is made from poppy seeds. In recent years, Afghanistan has become a global supplier; 84 percent of the opiates consumed worldwide are said to come from the land of the Hindu Kush.

Since the Taliban came to power, production there has likely declined. Nevertheless: flower meadows in the desert demand a lot from the environment. The cultivation was made possible by more than 500,000 solar-powered water pumps, which ensure that the desert becomes green, writes ‘Deutsche Welle’ in an article.

Social economist David Mansfield concluded in a report that since these wells were put into use, the local groundwater level has been dropping three meters per year. The wells are now up to 130 meters deep. Mansfield describes the situation on the ground in his 2020 report as follows:

The pesticides used probably also ended up in the groundwater. In the worst cases, such elevated levels of nitrates in the water can cause babies to be born with fatal heart defects. Another problem: the water can drain completely.

The Taliban have now banned heroin cultivation in the country and farmers should grow wheat instead. According to the BBC, it currently appears that many Afghan farmers are complying. Production could decrease by around 80 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year.

Of course, the problem of environmentally unfriendly heroin production has not been wiped off the table, but, when in doubt, has simply been moved to other parts of the world, such as Myanmar.

But it’s not just coca forests and poppy plantations that are toxic to our environment. Cannabis, now the third most popular drug in Germany after alcohol and tobacco, is also a climate killer. Outdoor plantations extract enormous amounts of water from the ground. The consequences are clearly visible in California. Marijuana is now grown there legally – causing even more water supply problems in the already drought-stricken state.

Because cannabis needs a lot of water to grow. It is estimated that there will probably be twice as much demand as for vines. The US state has issued regulations to ensure that the plantations do not have a negative impact on the water supply – and that pesticide residues do not end up in the groundwater. Nevertheless, CNN reported on the battle for water in 2021.

Since 2013, 45 billion liters are said to have been stolen. From fire hydrants, reservoirs, directly from water bodies or by drilling into water pipes. The perpetrators: illegal cannabis producers. Because despite legalization, they still exist. The reason for this is likely the many permits required to open a plantation, as well as the taxes the state collects.

But it’s not just the water that makes the ecological balance of grass problematic; indoor cultivation also increases emissions enormously. Because: Light, temperature and ventilation consume an incredible amount of energy.

From trend analyst Me’s point of view, legalizing drugs would not necessarily provide relief. The problem is more complex, she answered a question from Watson at a press conference. A major problem in this whole affair is of course the drug trafficking groups whose main interest is maximizing profits. Farmers benefited least from drug cultivation.

Nevertheless, decriminalization – and therefore a loss of power for the drug cartels – would probably not have the desired effects in terms of environmental protection, says Me. Because: The cultivation of cannabis and the like remains energy and resource intensive, regardless of whether it is legal or illegal.

And it is not only the cultivation of plant products that is toxic to our environment, but also the production of synthetic drugs. The production of one kilo of MDMA produces approximately ten kilos of toxic waste. Amphetamines, like speed, pose an even greater burden on the environment. This produces approximately thirty kilos of toxic waste.

For example, sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid or acetone are not disposed of as hazardous waste – where they belong – but are secretly dumped into barrels or dumped into rivers. And it is not only production that causes environmental problems, but also consumption.

A study from the Czech Agricultural University in Prague also concluded that freshwater fish can become addicted to drugs. For the study, trout were kept in water containing methamphetamine (such as crystal meth) at a concentration found in the treated water of sewage treatment plants.

Residues of meth, cocaine, MDMA and other drugs are repeatedly found in water samples from different regions. With potentially serious consequences, according to the studies.

Is drug use actually ecological terror, or how do you see that? Do you pay attention to the ecological balance? And what about the negative environmental impacts of legal intoxicants such as alcohol and tobacco?

Write to us via the comment function!