Industrial Indoor Cannabis Cultivation is Hazardous to our Planet’s Health .... and ours
Here Comes Big Canna - as Greedy and Harmful as Big Ag
As more states legalize the use of cannabis, we are thrilled to see the return of this sacred plant after a century of illegality. Unfortunately, it is accompanied by the extraordinarily harmful practice of large-scale indoor cultivation, dominated by multistate operators whose main concern is with monetizing the newest ‘drug’.
The criminalization of cannabis may have necessitated growers to go indoors to avoid detection, but it’s long past time to come out into the light. There is no more reason for cannabis to be grown indoors than for tomatoes or corn to be grown indoors! But Big Canna likes the control indoor growing provides as well as the huge profits it can realize, all at the expense of our environment and our health. Study after study reveal just how much of a glutton the indoor cannabis industry is, using excessive amounts of energy, spewing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
Industrial indoor cannabis cultivation is one of the worst industries in the nation when it comes to greenhouse gas pollution.[1] It is 50-200 times more energy intensive that a typical office building. [2] Another study found growing 2 pounds of cannabis indoors left a carbon footprint equivalent to driving across the country eleven times.[3] Another report out of Oregon found - an indoor grow system for only four plants sucks up as much energy as 29 refrigerators.[4]
Moreover, forcing the plants to grow indoors in this new monoculture system, devoid of predators and of the balance a natural environment provides, we can easily see how the indoor cultivation industry, like outdoor industrial growing, must rely on synthetic chemicals both to feed the plant and to destroy pests and diseases exacerbated by this forced unnatural growing environment. [5]
These large indoor growing warehouses also create hazardous conditions for employees. To stimulate plant growth inside, carbon dioxide gas is often sprayed over the plants while workers are present in the grow rooms. If they’re there for an extended period of time they can pass out. There are occasions when sulfur smoke is used to combat mold and mildew. Many indoor cultivation workers report skin rashes and respiratory problems. Some workers are lucky enough to wear hazmat suits while spraying pesticides in an effort to protect themselves from the chemicals used in industrial grow operations. These are the chemicals we may very well be ingesting when we purchase legal and tested cannabis.
It’s actually worse than that.
Pesticide Use on Cannabis Plants is Particularly Harmful to our Health because Cannabis is Heated thus Altering the Chemical Composition of the Chemicals
Aside from the general toxicity of pesticides, there are no studies showing what happens to the chemicals in pesticides once heated. The chemicals permitted to be used have only been approved for limited purposes which do not consider the effect of heating the chemicals in the pesticides. But cannabis is usually heated! Cannabis is consumed primarily by smoking or vaping and inhaling pesticides is considered a more potent route of exposure.
We do know what happens when one popular chemical is heated and this makes my point. Myclobutanil is a fungicide and reproductive toxin commonly used by cannabis and grape growers to combat powdery mildew. On grapes, which are at least capable of being washed, myclobutanil is considered by the government to have low toxicity when used correctly. But when heated, we know that myclobutanil releases hydrogen cyanide, a gas so toxic it’s been classified as a chemical warfare agent.[6] It was used as such in World War Two.
This lethal chemical has repeatedly been found on tested legal cannabis. And we have examples of the government refraining from acting, allowing these pesticide-laden plants to pass.[7] Large cannabis operations rely on the government not having sufficient resources to catch them using these chemicals, and when they are caught, count on buying their way out with a fine. [8]
Sometimes the pesticide isn’t found in the flowers after testing, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. It might not be detected in the sample, but when cannabis products are concentrated, like edibles for example, well concentrates concentrate. Any system of growing that relies on pesticides or synthetic chemicals should be a red flag. We’ve seen how testing can be evaded or corrupted or ignored.
The solution is to grow your own or to know your farmer. Small ethical farmers abiding life-respecting farming practices must be supported. Education is needed for cannabis consumers so they in turn can decide where to spend their cannabis money. It is imperative people know where and how their cannabis is grown. Given the potential of this plant for our health, it is essential that we grow it in a way that ensures its maximum nutrient integrity and its purity.
The cannabis plant with all its extraordinary healing benefits and its ability to open and elevate our consciousness deserves regenerative, life-affirming farming practices. We at Terra Mater Farma do our best to honor her and all our green allies.
[1] Not So Green: How the Weed Industry is a Glutton for Fossil Fuels, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jun/20/cannabis-climate-change-fossil-fuels;
see also The carbon footprint of indoor Cannabis production, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254408509_The_carbon_footprint_of_indoor_Cannabis_production
[2]Pot is Not Green, https://www.tdworld.com/utility-business/article/21122891/pot-is-not-green.
[3] A Chronic Problem: Taming Energy Costs and Impacts from Marijuana Cultivation,
http://eq-research.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/A-Chronic-Problem.pdf
[4] Washington’s indoor pot grows could be big power suck, https://mynorthwest.com/19122/washingtonsindoor-pot-grows-could-be-big-power-suck/.
[5] Pesticide Use in Marijuana Production: Safety Issues and Sustainable Options As states legalize cannabis, toxics in cultivation intersect with health and the environment, and ecological practices
[6] Systemic Pesticides: Are Your Clones at Risk? https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/systemic-pesticides-are-your-clones-at-risk/
[7] Marijuana Supplier Hid Pesticide from Inspectors, Former Worker Says, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/marijuana-supplier-hid-pesticide-from-inspectors-former-worker-says/article33962026/; Myclobutanil – Banned and Toxic, But It’s in Your Cannabis? https://www.rxleaf.com/myclobutanil-highly-fatal-cannabis/
[8] Marijuana companies hid illegal pesticide use, https://commonwealthmagazine.org/marijuana/marijuanacompanies-hid-illegal-pesticide-use/; See also 3 Marijuana Dispensaries Fined A Total Of $800,000, https:// www.wbur.org/news/2020/07/15/cannabis-control-commission-dispensary-infraction-fines
