6 minute read
Cannabis, Business, & Sustainability
The Laws that Make Sustainability Hard to Achieve
BY VEE CASTILLO
Cannabis 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:
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:
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:
Jane Fonda, legendary actress and climate change activist say:
“Today, the climate crisis requires collective action on a scale that humanity has never accomplished, and in the face of those odds a sense of hopelessness may occasionally descend. But the antidote to that feeling is to do something. The question is: what? Changing individual lifestyle choices like giving up meat and getting rid of single-use plastic won’t cut it when time is not on our side. We need to go further, faster. Instead of changing straws and lightbulbs, we need to focus on changing policy and politicians.
To be more sustainable in cannabis, regulations/laws have to change. Rolling Stone Magazine says in their headline:
HOW CANNABIS REGULATIONS/ LAWS MAKE CANNABIS NON-SUSTAINABLE
The federal government still holds Marijuana on Schedule I,
this created the situation we have today of state-by-state legalization, which creates sustainability issues in cannabis cultivation for example. Places like rainy and moldy Washington state have to grow their own cannabis.
This may be cool in the summer when outdoor grows/cultivations can be successful, but when it’s raining and cold for most of the year, indoor cultivation is the sought out way.
But indoor cultivation isn’t friendly to the environment. Indoor cultivation is a way to grow cannabis, which attempts to mimic the outdoor environment. Trying to create an outdoor illusion, indoors, is a big use of energy that isn’t sustainable.
The Journal of Cannabis Research breaks down the ways that indoor cultivation causes harm:
“Studies found out that cannabis plants emit a significant amount of biogenic volatile organic compounds, which could cause indoor air quality issues. Indoor cannabis cultivation is energy-consuming, mainly due to heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and lighting.
Energy consumption leads to greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect. And the greenhouse effect is what causes climate change. Climate change is why our weather and temperatures have been a hot mess for years and getting worse.
Another way that laws and regulations tied to cannabis cultivation contribute to nonsustainability in the cannabis industrydisposing of plants. This happens because the government says they are of no value and can’t be used.
Forbes makes a point:
“After harvest, cannabis plants need to be disposed of. To legally dispose of cannabis plants, cannabis growers first need to make the waste unrecognizable, which requires them to create a 50-50 mix of cannabis waste to non-cannabis waste.
It’s not just cannabis cultivation though, as stated above, packaging contributes to non-sustainability in cannabis. Both of which are governed by laws/regulations.
TIPS FOR CREATING A SUSTAINABLE CANNABIS BRAND
Laws and regulations may not allow for change, but change is definitely coming!
So, here’s how cannabis brands can be/become more sustainable:
Water Conversation by going hydro. Multiple sources state that hydroponic and aeroponic cultivation is more sustainable way to cultivate cannabis.
Lighting for indoor cultivation: LED and solar lighting is much better. LED converts electricity to light and solar converts light to electricity.
Regenerative farming to increase biodiversity which enhances ecosystem services.
Waste disposal, but with the legal way in place is very unsustainable so, there are groups like GAIACA working on changing the laws tied to how cultivators dispose of waste.
As stated multiple times, packaging, using plastic isn’t sustainable. Using recycled packaging and hemp packaging is a sustainable way.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Any business can incorporate sustainable practices, here are a few:
Make sustainability a core principle of your business
Do research
Innovate
Incorporate diverse leadership
Set holistic visions
Be willing to consistently improve and be accountable.
