CANNABIS, BUSINESS,
SUSTAINABILITY
& The Laws that Make Sustainability Hard to Achieve
BY VEE CASTILLO
C
annabis is a plant that can save the planet; however, many laws associated with cannabis seem to do more harm than good. Cannabis should be sustainable… right? But far too many times, something as simple as buying a pre-roll, can cause harm to the environment. It’s no secret that plastic harms, and yet the laws associated with cannabis create the need to use plastic, almost making it a harmful purchase. Forbes says:
“THANKS TO A DECADESLONG ASSOCIATION WITH “HIPPIES” AND “TREEHUGGERS,” CANNABIS HAS LARGELY BEEN CONSIDERED A GREEN (NO PUN INTENDED) INDUSTRY BY THE MASSES. MANY MAY NOT REALIZE THAT CANNABIS HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN A SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY, AND WITH THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF CANNABIS, THINGS HAVE CONTINUED TO MOVE IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.”
WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY? Sustainability is: meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The U.S, in cannabis and everywhere, isn’t fulfilling this meaning. We are a wasteful country and we are causing irreversible harm. While cannabis and hemp can help with an overall sustainable world, the laws and regulations tied to their prohibition and their legality, make this close to impossible. In all pillars of sustainability: human, social, economic, and environmental- we are failing.
CANNABIS, HEMP, SUSTAINABILITY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE Cannabis-hemp is a very sustainable crop. The Cannabis Industry Journal says: “As a standalone item, the cannabis plant is very environmentally friendly.
This is particularly true when it comes to hemp, a variety of the cannabis plant with a huge range of environmental benefits. An extremely versatile and robust crop, hemp uses far less land and water than other common crops and even captures carbon dioxide and regenerates soil. Approximately 20,000 products can be made from its seed, fiber, and flower, from biodegradable plastics to food supplements, meaning all in all – it is an environmentally and economically sustainable crop.” With these facts, the government should be growing cannabis in national parks and forests, on the side of the road, and in all botanical gardens. But the laws are set up in a way that this can’t happen. As quickly as the government moved on vaccines, they should’ve moved on hemp and hemp education to truly save us. Earth is not happy and climate change is real. A scientist at Stanford University said: “Climate change is on pace to occur 10 times faster than any change recorded in the past 65 million years.”
thechronicmagazine.com
JANUARY 2022
8
