Cannabis Can Make The Earth More Sustainable: Here’s How
We love our Earth, and from the past few years, everyone is talking about the green revolution. More and more people are now concerned about the increasing pollution and plastic waste. Climate change has become a big issue in the mainstream media.
When it comes to cannabis, most people are only familiar with the benefits it provides to the human body. But there are many other potential benefits of cannabis that can help our planet as well.
Cannabis has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, mainly because of its medical benefits. It can be used to treat various medical conditions by managing symptoms associated with them. A medical marijuana doctor can provide you a medical marijuana card after evaluating your condition. With this MMJ card, you can buy medical cannabis for your condition.
Qualifying conditions include cancer, arthritis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s disease, PTSD, chronic pain, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, and many more.
Cannabis is also getting popular with younger generations. When it comes to cannabis legalization movements, millennials are more likely to favor it than the older adults. It is also seen that millennials care a lot about the sustainability of the Earth. This is why the cannabis industry should also focus on its global impact as it grows.
Fortunately, cannabis can be very beneficial for the planet if used to its full potential. The cannabis plant is one of the earliest economic and agricultural crops. It is also one of the most versatile plants throughout history. It can be used for clothing, medicine, food, building, recreational purposes, and more.
To understand it better, let’s learn more about it. I have prepared a list of ways that tell how cannabis can contribute to making this planet more sustainable.
In these points, we will discuss both hemp and marijuana.
3 Ways in which Cannabis can help in Sustaining Earth:
1. Legal grows helps conserve energy and water
Unfortunately, in states where growing cannabis is illegal, cultivators are forced to grow these crops under clandestine circumstances. They use clandestine methods, meaning they grow cannabis plants inside. And this can cause major damage to the environment. The cannabis plants best grow under warm and humid climates with natural light.
But growing cannabis plants inside (secretly) require a lot of energy and water. This may lead to water depletion, emissions of carbon in large amounts, and waste of overall energy. Cultivators have to forcefully use high-powered lights so that plants can grow well.
However, these lights consume a lot of electricity. But legalizing can help in reducing these illegal grows to a significant amount. This will prevent the draining of the planet’s resources.
How legalization can help?
Cultivators can grow cannabis plants outdoors in the legal states. The plants do not need to grow lights, heating elements, and humidifiers when growing plants in natural conditions. This way growers can save a lot of energy.
This will help the growers financially, and will also be good for the planet. Growing outdoors will also help in reducing the carbon footprint. Legalizing cannabis growth on a federal level can lead to better agricultural planning. Cannabis plants would grow in areas that favor their climate conditions and lead to high yields. Growers would not have to depend upon the intervention of electricity.
2. Hemp can help the soil
Hemp is a bio-accumulator that works like a sponge for environmental chemicals. This means it has the ability to suck everything up that may be present in the soil like environmental toxins. This is one of the reasons why it can survive in different climates all around the world. Hemp is truly a hardy plant that can grow in any climate and also improve the quality of the soil.
Hemp plants can help in cleaning up dioxin, a pervasive environmental pollutant. This pollutant is a byproduct of steel smelting.
Hemp is often planted as a beneficial crop, which can help in supporting other agricultural efforts. The roots of hemp can hold the soil together and reduce erosion. This is because the roots of hemp go deep.
It further loosens the earth, which is beneficial for other plants. As I mentioned above, hemp roots can suck up bad things in the soil. This improves the quality of soil for future crops. That is why it is used many times by farmers to clean the soil.
Another advantage of hemp plants is that they are recyclable. Which means, farmers can leave the remnants of hemp in the soil. This can provide nourishment to the feed plants in the following years. So, hemp can be a solution to many farming problems such as soil erosion and pollution in soil.
3. Cannabis plants can be beneficial in many ways
Marijuana has gained a lot of popularity because of its medical benefits. At the same time, hemp is harvested because of its high CBD content. Proponents believe that CBD can be very beneficial for human health, even with the psychoactive effects of THC. But these are not the only benefits of cannabis. Cannabis can offer a lot more for our future than just physical benefits, especially hemp plants.
Currently, the nutrition industry is consuming some hemp seeds, as these seeds have all nine essential amino acids. This is rare when it comes to plant-based protein sources. Other than tons of nutrients, hemp seeds also contain Omega 3 and Omega 6. This has helped them gain a lot of popularity.
There are many ways in which the rest of the plant can be used. The stalks and leaves of the hemp plant can be used to make excellent textiles. Hemp t-shirts are now taking over organic cotton. The best part about hemp textiles is that they grow softer with more use. They also retain color in a better way than cotton.
Also, they are less prone to wear and tear than cotton. Hemp can be grown in a more sustainable way than cotton. There are some more ways in which hemp can be used, such as in bioplastics and sustainable construction.
Final thoughts
While we all want to support our Earth, there is hope for a more sustainable future. It may be a long road, but with every step we take, we get closer to it.
Cannabis can be an answer to a lot of problems. So, using hemp textile and organic cannabis products can be a step to fight climate change.
