After the increase in security at the United States – Mexico border , due in part to the September 11 attacks of 2001 , Mexican cartels increasingly began to grow cannabis within the United States rather than export it from Mexico . The cartels utilized the favorable climate of Eastern Washington to establish large scale outdoor-growing operations in remote areas of national parks and tribal reservations . In 2010 , around 82,000 cannabis plants were seized on tribal lands in the state , accounting for almost a quarter of all plants seized by law enforcement that year . These clandestine growers cause significant damage to the environment by diverting streams , clearing trees , using pesticides , poaching animals and leaving behind litter and human waste
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Cannabis in Washington (state)