Marijuana, weed, bud, reefer, blunt; whatever you call it, we need to talk about it. The cannabis industry as it is, with some legal growers and some otherwise, is not a sustainable practice. It’s known that the legalization of cannabis is likely to positively impact the economy; for example, legalizing the plant makes it a taxable good. In fact, according to a 2016 Washington Post article, legalizing cannabis brought in $129 million in taxes in Colorado and $220 million in Washington state. It’s expected that legalization will also reduce the number of arrests made for possession, which will open up the prisons. But what’s not known are the long-term environmental impacts of legal cannabis.
Most illegal growers opt for indoor endeavors, to hide the plants. Keeping them indoors, however, is extremely energy intensive because the plants need light, ventilation, etc. Science Direct estimates that 1% of all electricity use in the United States is dedicated to indoor cannabis production. Legalizing the plant would allow for its growth to be moved out into the open, which would bring down national energy costs by $6 billion, annually. Growing outdoors would also reduce CO₂ emissions by about 4600 kilograms, per kilogram of product. Ultimately, the legalization of weed would likely make the product cheaper, subsequently making indoor growing practices less economically feasible.
Illegal cannabis production also poses plenty of threats to local ecosystems. The DEA is known to use overly harmful herbicides to kill the plant more quickly, but these herbicides tend to kill other natural foliage in the area. And the lack of regulation of the industry also directly leads to mass deforestation, since officials are not able to effectively regulate where it is grown. Just to get a farm started, you have to cut down enough forest to make space and maybe divert some rivers. Additionally, harmful pesticides are used to keep animals away, but usually end up killing them, endangering local wildlife. Not to mention how much water cannabis plants demand. Each plant consumes around 6 gallons of water a day, give or take based on size, strain, and sunlight.
For a few plants in a DIY home endeavor, that isn’t too much, but for growers whose livelihood is cannabis, 6 gallons per day per plant adds up. It’s not as much as California’s almonds (1.1 gallons per almond) or the meat and dairy industry (another fight for another day), but cannabis is by no means a water saving plant. Those who grow illegally are less concerned with the sustainability in the long term and more concerned with output, pest control, and keeping the farm secure. Basically, it gets really messy, really quickly.
Legalizing cannabis will allow for officials and policy makers to study and choose which areas are suitable to grow the plant, which will provide relief to suffering ecosystems across the country.
Though the plant is not the most environmentally friendly, legalization would be leaps in the right direction for a sustainable cannabis industry. Many consider the usage of cannabis to be a moral issue, but the overall benefits of legal cannabis cannot be ignored. Opposition to the drug based on morals will only further the environmental damage of the illegal cannabis industry. Additionally, legalizing cannabis will allow for regulation, which will ensure a safer product for users. Cannabis will be grown whether it’s legal or not, but making it legal will at least put some environmental protections into place. This isn’t a problem that’s going to fix itself; we need to take action now before it’s too late.
