The Coachella Valley in California is blooming fast as the industry's new farming hub. It becomes ideal for a recently legalized crop: Marijuana. The region suffers a severe groundwater depletion, which could be worsened by the popular crop. There is a growing marijuana industry that wants to satisfy the soaring demand.
California voters approved the Proposition 64 which allows the sale of marijuana to adults for recreational purposes since Jan. 1, 2018. UPI reports that several cities in the Coachella Valley have moved to produce marijuana in huge quantities. Desert Hot Springs has become the leader, this is a city that tilted toward bankruptcy in 2014, thus, it decided to embrace marijuana as a source of income.
Mayor Scott Matas stated that the marijuana industry started coming and buying all the land. Just a couple of churches and a pool supply store are left. At first, the city just wanted to produce medical marijuana, but the first growers asked the city to allow marijuana cultivation for recreational purposes, if that was ever legalized.
Growing marijuana industry
There are a lot of applicants that want cultivation permits and join the business in Desert Hot Springs, a lot of industrial land has been bought at record prices, and massive buildings are being erected to create indoor marijuana farms. There are already seven marijuana dispensaries open in Desert Hot Springs, and two more are coming. Water demand is an important topic of discussion, but Matas said he does not think it's going to impact our aquifers. Wall Street investors are rushing into the business, the US sales of legal marijuana could grow nine-fold in the next decade.
There are cities in the region have opened their gates to marijuana cultivators, including Cathedral City and Coachella. But none has been as inviting as Desert Hot Springs. This city has been more embracing and receptive than the others. Some people are worried and confused about how much water marijuana plants consume.
