Indoor culture of cannabis : a new threat to climate change

The legalization of cannabis in several countries has caused a significant increase in commercial production. A considerable amount of legal cannabis is cultivated indoors due to quality control, state regulations, risk of thieves and nature’s hazard. There is also an increasing cultivation of cannabis in private homes, garages, small greenhouses and other closed areas. The culture of cannabis in itself has always been a source of debate in regards to water, land use, and pollution. However, the magnitude of the environmental impact of energy-intensive factory farms poses a new threat to climate change. 

One of the main issues is the massive use of electricity for lighting and ventilation needed for the crops and therefore the massive increase in greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, recent studies have shown that the greenhouse gas emissions from cannabis production are largely attributed to electricity production and natural gas consumption from indoor environmental controls, high intensity grow lights and supplies of carbon dioxide for accelerated plant growth.

Hailey Summers and her colleagues at Colorado State University have quantified and analysed the greenhouse gas emissions produced by cannabis growers, storage and processing emissions excluded. 

The study states that the legal indoor cannabis production in Colorado emits more greenhouse gases than the state’s coal mining industry. The same research also states that indoor cultivation produces about 100 times more greenhouse gas emissions than outdoor cannabis cultivation.  

Illegal cannabis production is also highly problematic as it usually involves on-site diesel generators which are much more polluting than grid-purchased electricity. 

We slowly get to understand that getting high has a cost, and not just a financial one. As much as weed is associated with green, its production, particularly when done indoor, damages the planet and therefore its inhabitants.  

The study suggests several solutions to reduce the negative impacts such as growing cannabis outdoors in greenhouses, and enable more energy efficient indoor set-ups using LED bulbs which would lower the energy requirements and reduce emissions. 

One of the challenges associated with those more sustainable alternatives is that the profit margins for investors get lower. Maybe one day the new sexy will be the Sun, tractors, compost and blue sky, but so far the multimillion-dollar ventures seem to be more appealing to investors. 

Journal reference: Nature Sustainability, DOI: 10.1038/s41893-021-00691-w

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