The High Costs of Cannabis
A Booming Industry
33 states have legalized marijuana for recreational and/or medical use. Colorado accrued more than $996 million in 2015 alone, and that's not even counting the $135 million in taxes and fees the state collected. The explosive growth of the cannabis industry has brought to question the health effects associated with consuming the drug, but what about the impact that growing the plant has on our environment? Let's take a look.
Marijuana legality, state-by-state. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabinoid found in marijuana that does not have the psychoactive effects that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has. Photo courtesy Leafly.
Smoke and Mirrors
According to Jake Brenner, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Ithaca College, "Cannabis leaves a small spatial footprint but has potentially significant environmental impacts." Brenner and two other colleagues at Ithaca College conducted a study that compared the effects of marijuana cultivation to those of timber harvests in Humboldt County from 2000 to 2013. They reported that “On a per-unit-area basis, the cannabis grows resulted in 1.5 times more forest loss and 2.5 times greater fragmentation of the landscape, breaking up large, contiguous forest into smaller patches and reducing wildlife habitat.”
The study also suggests that California’s law prohibiting marijuana growing operations to purchase more than an acre per parcel may promote smaller grow operations to develop without foresight, and therefore could negatively impact wildlife (think suburban sprawl).
A research ecologist studies the environmental impacts of illegal marijuana grows in California. Photo courtesy Discover Magazine.
Ways to Grow
Traditionally, there have been three different methods of growing marijuana: indoors, outdoors, or in a greenhouse. Indoor growing requires a lot of electricity since artificial lights replace the sun. Outdoor growing doesn't use any electricity, but uses more water, and plants take longer to grow. Greenhouse cultivation can either use the sun, artificial lighting, or a combination of both.
Labor, water, electricity, soil, packaging, distribution, fertilizers and pesticides are the main resources needed to grow and transport marijuana.
Aside from labor, electricity is the resource most used to grow the plant indoors. Indoor grow facilities have been estimated to use one percent of the nation’s total electricity. Electricity is needed to air condition, dehumidify, ventilate and light indoor facilities.
Many cannabis growers are moving away from high-powered sodium lights (HPS) in favor of light-emitting diode (LED) lights, which are more expensive but also more energy efficient. Photo courtesy Westword News.
One way growers can cut back on electricity is to purchase power monitors which can be placed on individual breakers throughout a facility in order to track energy usage during different stages in a plant’s development and during different seasons and times of day.
Water and Pesticides
Water and pesticides are an intertwined issue with growing marijuana. Some companies have begun increasing their chemical usage to meet the insatiable consumer demand, causing damage to water sources and wildlife, and potentially affecting public health. For example, the herbicide glyphosate, which is used to kill weeds, may cause cancer in humans. According to an article in High Times Magazine, “Even in states with a robust medical marijuana market, lack of official oversight creates financial incentives that sometimes trump concern for public health and safety.”
A head grower at L'Eagle Dispensary in Denver applies neem oil to pot plants, used here as an organic pesticide to ward off mites and other insects. Photo courtesy The Denver Post.
One way in which chemical fertilizers and pesticides contaminate water sources is via the growing method, “draining to waste”, where excess water that can’t be consumed by plants is diverted down the drain. This unsustainable practice not only pollutes waterways, but also costs growers tons of money and wastes perfectly reusable water. Considering that it takes up to six gallons of water per day to grow a single marijuana plant, every drop counts.
Draining to waste can be avoided by implementing simple technologies like water flow meters, which—you guessed it—measure water flow, and/or drip irrigation, which releases pre-measured amounts of water to plants. Because water treatment plants have a difficult time treating the pH balancers and nutrients found in water runoff from marijuana cultivation, recycling one’s “grow water” helps save money and water.
Getting Off the (Power) Grid
Canndescent, a California-based cannabis company that offers "virgin" weed and bills themselves "The Nike of Cannabis", wanted to put solar panels on the roofs of their buildings, but fire code restrictions wouldn’t allow it. So instead, the innovative company spent approximately $3.75 million to build carports with solar panels, making it the first commercial solar-powered cannabis-growing facility in California.
Canndescent is paving the way for a fourth method of growing marijuana called "greendoor", which promotes water and electricity efficiency as well as organic pesticides.
Towards a Green Future
With the cannabis industry expected to grow by nearly 25% by 2025, efficiency and safety measures are vital to the sustainability of our environment and public health. Derek Smith, executive director of the Resource Innovation Institute in Portland, Oregon, told Marijuana Business Magazine, “My gut feeling is that the industry is generally getting more efficient on a production basis and facility basis.”
Let's hope he's right.
