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Organic Contaminants at Trespass Cannabis Grows on Federal Land in California, USA

Metadata Updated: September 17, 2025

Despite the legalization of recreational cannabis in California, illegal cultivation persists, particularly on public lands (trespass grows). These operations often divert water unlawfully and apply unauthorized chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This dataset reports the presence, and in some cases concentrations, of persistent chemicals in soil, water, and sediment in nearby streams. We conducted quantitative analyses of 183 pesticide compounds in water and 176 in soil/sediment, along with qualitative nontargeted screening at three trespass sites inactive for 8 months to 2 years. Targeted analysis revealed insecticides like bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, malathion, and imidacloprid (up to 38 nanograms per gram (ng/g) dry weight (d.w.)) and fungicides such as fluopyram, myclobutanil, and triadimefon (up to 8.1 ng/g d.w.) in soil, but no pesticides were found in water or sediment samples. Nontargeted screening detected additional pesticides (e.g., spiromesifen, trinexapac) in soil and cannabis-related compounds (e.g., cannabidiol, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) in both soil and sediment, indicating potential offsite transport. Phthalate plasticizers, rubber-related compounds, and pharmaceuticals were also found in soil, water, and sediment, likely linked to extensive irrigation infrastructure at these sites. This dataset establishes a contaminant profile associated with illegal cannabis cultivation, laying the groundwork for future studies on ecological impacts.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 17, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 17, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-681a4c8fd4be0257c3c31a65
Data Last Modified 2025-07-10T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id f9af8b26-2acc-47da-8343-06f2486f56f2
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -124.3900, 32.5300, -114.1200, 42.0000
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 2aaba3e6fa1956bbf8f33d75c34abd858d4d0e9af44a8c668be82548a7a447a7
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -124.3900, 32.5300, -124.3900, 42.0000, -114.1200, 42.0000, -114.1200, 32.5300, -124.3900, 32.5300}

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