DENVER Many Coloradans will celebrate the cannabis plant on 4/20. However, researchers at Colorado State University are also celebrating the plant. Sending out a noticeLearn more about the environmental effects of cannabis production.
They found that indoor cannabis production is a major source in greenhouse gas emissions within our region. This is due to Colorado’s climate requiring so much energy to maintain the proper temperatures.
However, eco-friendly doesn’t just mean how weeds are grown.
Recycling, packaging, and buying from local vendors can all be done to reduce a dispensary’s carbon footprint.
Glendale’s Life Flower dispensaryAlthough eco-friendly is not an easy task, it’s still the company’s goal.
“Were Colorado natives. Brad Liestikow, Life Flower Dispensary, said that this plant and this state have given him his livelihood.
The dispensary states that it uses biodegradable containers made of hemp plastic whenever possible and informs customers how to properly recycle them.
They have also fitted the shop in beetle kill pin.
“We can repurpose (the pin) and it kinda sequesters carbon and decay from forest and brings it here,” Laiah Walsh, Life Flower Dispensary.
They are also picky about where products come form, and will source locally from growers who use greenhouses when possible.
Jason Quinn, Colorado State’s Director for the Sustainability Research Laboratory, advises that customers should ask dispensaries where their weed is coming from, how it was grown and if it can be recycled.
He also suggested reaching out to legislators.
Quinn states, “Let policymakers begin to implement policies related to energy requirements or renewable energy requirements in order to kind of start minimizing greenhouse gas emissions associated to this particular industry.”
Quinn states that dispensaries and consumers are responsible for making eco-friendly decisions.
Walsh says, “This industry is all about a plant. It’s really important that that we keep that plant sacred as well as the environment it lives in sacred.”