As cannabis legalization continues its march across the country and investment in legal cannabis continues to grow, many previously veiled aspects of cannabis cultivation have come to light, including a surprisingly damaging environmental cost.
Additionally, a single cannabis plant needs almost 22 liters of water per day during the growing season, a consumption rate of 3 billion liters of water per square kilometer of greenhouse cultivation, putting a strain on already scant water supplies.
Ecologist Greta Wengert of the Integral Ecology Research Center described the problem: “A quarter teaspoon in the soil, in cannabis plants, in native vegetation, the water, the infrastructure.
This raises the question: How do I reduce the impact of my cannabis consumption? An overarching solution is to continue efforts to legalize marijuana.