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Environmentally-Friendly Cannabis Consumption

Environmentally-Friendly Cannabis Consumption

Posted: April 25th, 2023


The official designation for Earth Month may be in April, but we support and celebrate the earth all year long at Garden Society. We’re committed to responsible farming and sustainable ingredients, which is why we partner with eco-friendly farms that cultivate cannabis in the way nature intended. By that, we mean without the use of harmful pesticides and with the use of the sun as the energy source for growing.

Sungrown cannabis is particularly important for the earth. According to Dr Silvaggio, an environmental sociologist at the Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research (HIIMR), energy consumption is “by far” the biggest environmental concern of cannabis farming. This issue is solved when the plant is grown outdoors or in greenhouses versus using artificial light.

The good news is that both cannabis cultivation and consumption can be minimally impactful to the earth – and even benefit it in several ways.

 

Environmental Potential for Hemp & Cannabis

Most responsible agriculture is only environmentally neutral even at the best of times. But when responsible farming practices are used, growing cannabis and its sister plant hemp can actually have a positive impact on the planet. These plants have the potential to:

Fast renewable hemp fibers can be used in fabric and paper

  • Reduce atmospheric carbon: All plants that go through photosynthesis (including cannabis and hemp) help clean CO2 from the air, which can help fight climate change.
  • Absorb contaminants from soil: Cannabis and hemp can help remove harmful contaminants left behind by conventional agriculture through a process called phytoremediation.
  • Act as a biofuel: Studies have found that 97% of hemp oil can be converted to biofuel, which could power any diesel engine.
  • Reduce deforestation & textile waste: Hemp is a sustainable source of paper, more sustainable and durable than cotton, and more biodegradable than synthetic fabrics.

 

 

Raw Garden sustainable cannabis farmCannabis Companies Doing Right by the Earth

Like Garden Society, many other cannabis companies are focusing on practices that support and respect the earth.

Sonoma Hills Farm sustainable cannabis

  • Emerald Spirit Botanicals: This family-run grower uses certified organic inputs on a naturally diversified farm, while focusing on both the health of the earth and the people that live on it.
  • Joy Ridge Farms: Located in Western Sonoma County, Joy Ridge Farms is a family-owned grower dedicated to small batch sungrown cannabis.
  • Sunboldt Grown: Sunboldt cannabis is grown outdoors in Humboldt without the use of supplemental water (a process known as dry farming).
  • Sonoma Hills Farm: SHF uses organic practices including cultivating healthy soils, fostering biodiversity, and eliminating the use of harmful pesticides.
  • Raw Garden: This Santa Barbara-based grower modeled its cultivation on USDA organic agricultural standards, and uses 5 times less water than the average cannabis farm in California.

 

 

Brighter Day full flower from Garden Society in collaboration with Joy Ridge Farms

How You Can Help

If the environment is important to you, one of the best ways you can help is with your vote. As mentioned above, the sustainable way to grow cannabis is outdoors using sunlight, and in areas where growing cannabis is illegal, it’s much more likely to be grown indoors with artificial light. So if you live in one of the states where cannabis cultivation is still illegal, advocate for eco-friendly change with your vote.

And of course, you can always show your support with your business. When you choose to spend your money with companies that are earth-friendly, you’re helping them continue to fight the good fight. When in doubt, keep an eye out for labels boasting sungrown flower, like our Brighter Day from Joy Ridge Farms, which is grown without the help of any artificial lighting.