Hybrid marijuana plants are grown at the Centennial Seeds lab in Lafayette in November 2014. (Denver Post file)

Water theft for growing marijuana worries southern Colorado officials

ALAMOSA — Water officials in the San Luis Valley are wrangling over a problem with the state’s marijuana laws over water theft.

Division Engineer Craig Cotten told state lawmakers there are a growing number of illegal marijuana growing operations that are illegally taking water.

According to the Pueblo Chieftain, Cotten says water commissioners are not armed and are not law-enforcement officers. He wants state officials to tell commissioners how to handle potentially dangerous growers.

Officials say the problem of stealing from the wells, which sit on private property, may end up with law enforcement because it may involve the crime of trespassing.
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Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain