So you think that joint you just lit might be the ultimate down-to-earth remedy for all that ails you, right? Seems like the natural, organic panacea; the David to Big Pharma’s chemical Goliath, but do you know where your weed comes from? Would it surprise you to know that the carbon footprint of that joint is not as green as you thought? Well, it seems one factor that’s holding back eco-innovation in marijuana cultivation is the federal government as written in this revealing Vice article. With the looming but generally unenforced federal ban still in place, it has a stifling effect on the mindset of growers who have traditionally looked for high yield, fast growing, and secretive approaches to cultivation. The frenetic dance to prioritize gathering the harvest while evading prosecution usually leads to the sacrifice of land stewardship and energy economy.
A few forward-thinking minds are calling out the dirty practices of the lawless past and want to see a shift in attitude to marijuana cultivation that more resembles that of, say organic tomato growers. Take Neil Yorio, scientist turned technical pot advisor for Denver Relief, one of the largest growers in Denver, when talking about the situation.
“It’s my opinion that most growers are pretty much just following dogma,” Yorio says. “They all clone or seed their plants under fluorescents, vegetate under metal halides and flower under high pressure sodium. And when I ask: Why do you do that? Their answers always vary, but really it’s because that’s what they were told, or what they read in a book. So these growers are using technology that’s old and energy wasteful, because it was the best technology available at the time they began using it. But when you look at things from a purely scientific perspective, cannabis can be cultivated in a much more efficient manner, with a far better outcome in terms of yield and quality.”
Without a federal blessing and legal regulations, some growers are creating their own standards for an organic certification such as “Clean Green” to ensure a high free of bad karma and pesticides. Need more convincing that you should be looking for cleaner weed? Check out this organic marijuana guide. There’s even some growing tips to get you on the right path if you’ve got a green thumb.
