HIGH TIME FOR HEMP: Legalizing pot [left], some say, would eliminate many negative environmental impacts associated with clandestine growing and illegal smuggling. It would also likely open the door for the legalization of hemp [right], a relative of the cannabis plant that can't get you high but could help us sustainably meet a good amount of our fiber and fuel needs.
Image: Wikipedia
The Best Science Writing Online 2012
Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
Read More »
Dear EarthTalk: I heard someone say that legalizing pot—as Californians considered doing last year—would benefit the environment. How would that be?—William T., Portland, Ore.
It is well known that legalizing pot could have great economic benefits in California and elsewhere by allowing the government to tax it (like it now does on liquor and cigarettes), by ending expensive and ongoing operations to eradicate it, and by keeping millions of otherwise innocent and non-violent marijuana offenders out of already overburdened federal and state prisons. But what you might not know is that legalizing pot could also pay environmental dividends as well.
Nikki Gloudeman, a senior fellow at Mother Jones magazine, reports on the change.org website that the current system of growing pot—surreptitious growers illegally colonizing remote forest lands and moving pesticides, waste and irrigation tubes into otherwise pristine ecosystems—is nothing short of a toxic scourge. Legalizing pot, she says, would clean things up substantially, as the growing would both eliminate the strain on public lands and meet higher standards for the use and disposal of toxic substances.
Legalization would also reduce the environmental impacts of smuggling across the U.S./Mexico border, says Gloudeman: “Cartels routinely use generators, diesel storage tanks and animal poison to preserve their cache, when the border area is surrounded by more than 4 million acres of sensitive federal wilderness.”
Also, legalizing pot would move its production out into the open, literally, meaning that growers would no longer need to rack up huge energy costs to keep their illegal indoor growing operations lit up by artificial light. This means that the energy consumption and carbon footprint of marijuana growers would go way down, as the light the plants need for photosynthesis could be provided more naturally by the sun.
Yet another green benefit of legalizing marijuana would be an end to the destructive eradication efforts employed by law enforcement at bust sites, where the crop and the land they are rooted in are sometimes subjected to harsh chemical herbicides for expedited removal.
The legalization of pot in the U.S. would also likely open the door to the legal production of hemp, a variety of the same Cannabis plant that contains much lower amounts of the psychoactive drug, THC. Proponents say hemp could meet an increasingly larger percentage of our domestic fiber and fuel needs. Cannabis, the plant from which marijuana and hemp is derived, grows quickly without the need for excessive amounts of fertilizer or pesticide (it’s a “weed” after all) and absorbs carbon dioxide like any plant engaged in photosynthesis. The fiber and fuel derived from hemp would be carbon neutral and as such wouldn’t contribute to global warming—and in fact could help mitigate rising temperatures by replacing chemical-intensive crops like cotton and imported fossil fuels like oil and gas.
Of course, one might argue that the best thing for the environment would be to stop growing cannabis altogether. “But let’s be real: That’s never going to happen,” says Gloudeman. “In light of that, the next best bet is to make it legal.”
CONTACTS: Change.org, www.change.org; Drug Policy Alliance, www.drugpolicy.org.
EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E – The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe; Request a Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.
About the Size of It
30 Comments
Add CommentNice headline.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI and others have been saying this for years, but we might put some DEA agents out of work, or at least put to better use of our tax dollars!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCome on America, lets get real and legalize this, prohibition didn't work for alcohol, why does anyone think it will work for marijuana? At a time when the government needs to cut spending this seems like a logical step.
However, it may cause increased gasoline use as stoners embark on more Dorito runs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Of course, one might argue that the best thing for the environment would be to stop growing cannabis altogether."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a biased statement. What about stopping the growth of cannabis is environmental? It is a part of the natural order, way healthier for the environment when it comes to paper production than the currently established methods, and it's root system essentially tills the soil for the next year's crop while also fixing nitrates. Getting rid of it makes no sense environmentally or otherwise. No reason to add this judgment (as i assume it was done to "legitimize" this article).
"Of course, one might argue that the best thing for the environment would be to stop growing cannabis altogether."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI loved this article, all the way until I read the preceding. This is an extremely irresponsible thing to say, especially if the tone of the article is geared toward legalization for environmental reasons. All of the *facts* so wonderfully cited in the article obviously show that the best thing for the environment is to legalize Cannabis and use hemp to nourish ourselves and our Earth, and to replace the current materials used industrially whose production, manufacture, use, and disposal have negative effects on our bodies and our environment. It's good to see the open mind... now go educate it!
Instead of spending the energy and time typing the same tired jokes, why not Google 'Cannabis' and educate yourself? And frankly, if we were making fuel from Cannabis, it wouldn't matter how many trips to the store the stoners made.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishear hear! Cannabis is the best plant on Earth, no joke there: it's used for foods (seeds are highly nutritious & it can be made into healthy milk), medicine (many applications including mental health, pain management & preventative medicine regarding it's cancer-killing ability via induced apoptosis of damaged cells along with anti-inflammatory effect) & industrial products (textiles, paper, rope, plastics, fuel, oil, wood) & lastly leisure which doesn't cause brain damage or addiction. Cannabis has anti-aging effects, it promotes creativity (synaptic plasticity) & optimism while protecting neurons & preventing Alzheimer's. It's more versatile & positively useful than any other plant. It should be legal, beyond reasonable doubt.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere would be more important benefits from legalizing marihuana. It would reduce or nearly eliminate market for much more dangerous "designer" drugs. Many kids and adults buy those home-kitchen made mixed chemicals without even knowing what is in them. Neither do doctors if a patients shows up and even discloses that s/he used "something".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisContinuing the policy of illegal marijuana not only is a tremendous waste of money and human resources, but also it is bad for medical/health policy. Plainly speaking it is a stupid policy.
I haven't done a study, so I'm only saying. Most of the quantitative value of these positive effects of legalizing marijuana don't appear to be really substantial (except for the direct and opportunity costs of incarcerating people.)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would need to see a study done on the COSTS, both human and opportunity, of legalizing alcohol, back in the 30s. From that we could perhaps extrapolate on the unintended consequences of legalizing pot. Would the DEA now have to turn to tax enforcement, enforcing DUI provisions, developing breathalysers for THC, public intoxication. Mental impairment from overuse, as happens with alcohol, medical costs as happens with cirrhosis from alcohol consumption. What difference did legalizing alcohol make, what was the human toll, and ancillary expenses of this change?
Well, as we proved with Prohibition and the War on Drugs - making it illegal has achieved nothing but a higher crime rate and officers better employed collaring thieves and murderers spending their time on drug runs...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthe studies showing how harmful it is have always been balanced by how useful it is...and since they never tell us who PAID for each study (each group having a vested interest in the study upholding THEIR thesis...)
of course there is the other problems with legalized hemp production - it makes excellent paper, clothing, rope. It might work as a green fuel as well - so we have several industries with a vested interest in keeping it illegal - the very ones that caused it to be illegalized (try it on your tongue before complaining) in the first place.
No, this is not a biased statement by SciAm, this is simply a statement of the anti-drug proponents stand.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisANY statement can be called biased in the direction of what it is favoring.
No deaths have been reported under the use of Marijuana. Alcohol should be banned but sadly it wont be. Alcohol has no benefits, marijuana does. Marijuana does not lead to mental impairments. legalizing Hemp and marijuana is the risky step we must take to at least try and save this ill planet.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOnce again proving, modern warfare is bad for the environment!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI strongly disagree with the idea that converting hemp into biofuel "won't contribute to global warming", though. Just because it isn't fossil oil doesn't mean that burning it doesn't have any negative effects. In fact, since it's presumably biodiesel that's being made from it, burning it will be dirtier than gasoline.
@brerlou
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is really no way to have a study on alcohol legalization which would be convincing for alcohol policy itself, never mind to extrapolate it to marijuana today. We can hypothesize what the US would look like if alcohol was still illegal, what would be the cost, how many prisons would we need etc... But no way to make it scientifically convincing.
In the end, in policies like this one, one has to decide based on the world and society one wants to see and live in. And use common sense,(which is not very common...:-)
Hemp can be grown legally in Canada even though the cultivation of marijuana is illegal. It requires a license from the federal government which is not that onerous to get (can't have a criminal record though). Even though the production of hemp is legal, there aren't major acres of this crop and very little is grown for fiber. In Western Canada, most of it is grown for seed for the oil and health food market. It can be lucrative for a few growers but would be easy to overproduce the demand.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am not saying pot should or shouldn't be legalized but don't have high expectations for hemp (in the short term anyways). Although promoted as a crop that doesn't require fertilizer, I was involved in a research project that illustrated that hemp has higher nitrogen fertilizer requirements than most of the crops we grow in Western Canada.
Did you even read the article?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"current system of growing pot—surreptitious growers illegally colonizing remote forest lands and moving pesticides, waste and irrigation tubes into otherwise pristine ecosystems—is nothing short of a toxic scourge."
As it stands, growing pot has some negative impact on the environment. Even if pot is legalized, growing it will still have some negative impact on the environment, as all mass agricultural products do. So, yes, "one might argue that the best thing for the environment would be to stop growing cannabis altogether".
It would certainly help improve the environment in Juarez where all your bad habits come home to roost!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYah, I wasn't arguing that the methods of growing it now shouldn't be changed, i feel that is somewhat implicit in agreeing with legalization. I also did not state anything to the contrary of what your quote says, it is a beneficial crop in the right areas. The illegal use of national park space and the chemicals that growers use to beef up their product is one of the most damaging aspects of the illegal pot industry. With legalization and regulation, there would be no more necessity for growers to use these areas for their remoteness.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs much as I would like to see marijuana legalized I do not see it as a tax incentive for the state. Both tobacco and liquor must be processed, weed merely needs to be grown, harvested and rolled in order to be used by the average consumer. With such ease of cultivation what's to keep someone from growing it in their yard and quickly and easily consumed?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYeah, exvept when you're stoned you'd rather not drive. More likely you'd wal;k to the store and save fuel!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is time to "Change the Schedule of Cannabis, Cannabis Laws, and Drug Czar Laws".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRead and sign the petition at
http://www.change.org/petitions/change-the-schedule-of-cannabis-cannabis-laws-and-drug-czar-laws
Have you actually ever eaten gruel? I haven't but something(the name) tells me it tastes like shit.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI know you are trying to be objective, but it would be helpful to us to see the subjective opinion of a person like yourself, since as you said, we have nothing better to go on. When we look at what is presently happening in Mexico, and the power that prohibition gave to crime bosses in the USA we would be forgiven for thinking that the social ill of crime itself would have been a larger endemic social malaise than the increase of alcoholism, if only because alcoholics are in fact dysfunctional even though highly visible, so they don't organize. The same may be said for the drug cartels here. They branch out into gun running, smuggling of immigrants, and the corruption of public officials. Couldn't this be considered to be a greater social malaise than the increase in DUIs, and carcinogenic effects resulting from the ready availability of another intoxicant? What other points need to be considered that I might not have mentioned, and what is your opinion of the ones I have.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLegalizing marijuana will help mainly filling pockets and bank accounts. Salud +
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPeople can make their own liquor in their own stills, their own beer and their own wine. Many do. But since the repeal of prohibition, the home brewing industry has become considerably smaller. Most people would rather buy their products at a store than make them for themselves. The fact is that there is processing involved in taking a plant out of the ground and getting it to the consumer. And if they were offered, most people would prefer to buy pre rolled pot than to roll their own, just as with tobacco.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thistortoise77...get a grip...it does impair...don't get me wrong...I think it should be legal...just don't miss represent....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLegalizing pot certainly would help job creation. While potheads were smoking, they would forget to vote, and conservatives would win more elections and could create more private sector jobs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSeriously, why not just decriminalize it?
By Nancy Lapid
NEW YORK | Mon Feb 7, 2011 5:19pm EST
(Reuters Health) - Smoking marijuana has been linked with an increased risk of mental illness, and now researchers say that when pot smokers do become mentally ill, the disease starts earlier than it would if they didn't smoke pot.
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/archgenpsychiatry.2011.5
2008...thanks for a link I have to pay to see...no thanks...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou are assuming facts not in evidence. Pot users do not suffer short term impairment with light usage but studies have shown heavy use and long term use does cause impairment and a number of other health issues.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI support tight regulation instead of outright prohibition. Opiates such as morphene are tightly regulated and abuse of them is minimal whereas prohibited substances tend to lead to organized crime more than anything.
Congress is preparing to dispute the merits of a new marijuana decriminalization bill. A bi-partisan bill co-sponsored by Reps. Barney Frank and Ron Paul strives to break the federal stranglehold on the jovial pot. The blog Reason reports that this will free up specific states to choose their own marijuana manifest destiny. The proof is here: <a title="Frank-Paul pot legislation up for debate" href="http://www.newsytype.com/8163-frank-paul-pot-bill/">Frank-Paul pot bill seeks to legalize marijuana</a>.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this