Feds Deny Water to Pot Growers

The federal government may not override Washington and Colorado’s marijuana laws, but it is more than happy to interfere with the available supply. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced Tuesday that it will not permit marijuana growers to access federally controlled waters for their crops. Washington growers are expected to be hit harder because the agency controls two-thirds of the water supply for irrigated lands, and Colorado farmers are already restricted to indoor growing. Still, Washington farmers are undeterred by this new federal barrier, and they are already developing plans to access city water supplies or drill their own wells. “This is an annoyance and a nuisance but I can assure you they will find water for this,” Alan Schreiber, a farmer in Franklin County, Washington, said last month.