The Marijuana Industry’s Dirty Little Secret

We were looking at the transformation of electrons into CBD and THC way back in 2007's "6% of all power produced by BC Hydro is used to grow marijuana." and then again in 2015's ""Marijuana growers in the US are using $6 billion a year in electricity"".

From SafeHaven:

The cannabis industry is hiding a dirty little secret.

According to Evan Mills, a California-based energy and climate change scientist, the marijuana industry has a major problem…and it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.

“Legislators and energy agencies have largely turned a blind eye to the carbon footprint of indoor cultivation, which already belches out greenhouse-gas emissions equal to that from 3 million cars in America,” says Mills.

In fact, just one marijuana cigarette creates over 10 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution.
An entire kilogram of finished product?

That produces a staggering 4600 kg of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere.
As far back as 2011, the then-illicit industry was racking up an energy bill of $6 billion per year in the U.S. That’s double the energy spent by all pharmaceutical companies combined!

And this was before commercial sized indoor growing facilities started popping up across the United States.
The runaway-growth in the cannabis industry, fueled by rolling de-regulation and a high demand forecast, is bringing with it a growing carbon footprint.

But luckily, a handful of companies are trying to repair the damage. Firms like Cannabis One are bringing smart clean energy policies to the pot industry.
“You’ve got to be smart,” says Cannabis One CEO Jeffery Mascio, ”or sooner or later, you’ll have to turn out the lights.”

Growing Demand
The single most important factor in the cannabis sector has been growth—driven by rolling de-regulation and de-criminalization (and, in Canada, complete legalization).
In the United States, dozens of state governments have passed legislation, legalizing marijuana for medical use, or de-criminalizing it for recreational use—and the market has been growing by leaps and bounds as a result.

“You’ve never seen anything quite like this,” says Jeffery Mascio, CEO of Cannabis One Holdings, a company that develops and markets cannabis products in Colorado, Washington and Nevada. “It’s a new industry that’s sprung up practically over-night.”

Since 2011, legal marijuana sales have increased dramatically—fueling the growth of an industry which in the United States is worth $10 billion and employs 250,000 people. Related: Trader Compares Current Market Environment To 2007

In 2017, marijuana stocks exploded on to the market, led by some heavy-hitters like Canopy Growth Corp. In 2019, and sales are estimated to grow by 38% to $16.9 billion.

In Colorado, legal pot sales reached $6 billion in 2018. The industry has really taken off in the Rocky Mountain state, serving as a contrast to California, where the roll-out of legalized weed has been a bit bumpier. Colorado now earns more than $200 million in taxes from legal dispensaries.
By 2025, analysts predict the legal marijuana market could be worth $146.4 billion.

Impact on Energy Demand
Most people imagine pot growers like modern farmers—tilling the earth, planting their crops, gathering the harvest.

But in fact, most cannabis cultivation is done indoors, in specially-designed growing facilities that utilize heat lamps and temperature control to maximize yields over a year-long growing season....MORE

In January's "ESG My Ass: The Massive Energy Footprint of the #Cannabis Industry" we outro'd with:

...Here's a song about bankers and weed:

Standing on the corner,

Suitcase in my hand

Jack is in his corset, and Jane is her vest,

And me I'm in a rock'n'roll band Hah!

Ridin' in a Stutz Bear Cat, Jim

You know, those were different times!

Oh, all the poets they studied rules of verse

And those ladies, they rolled their eyes

Sweet Jane! Whoa! Sweet Jane, oh-oh-a! Sweet Jane!

I'll tell you something

Jack, he is a banker

And Jane, she is a clerk

Both of them save their monies, ha

And when, when they come home from work

Oh, Sittin' down by the fire, oh!

The radio does play

The classical music there, Jim

"The March of the Wooden Soldiers"

All you protest kids

You can hear Jack say, get ready, ah

Sweet Jane! Come on baby! Sweet Jane! Oh-oh-a! Sweet Jane!

Some people, they like to go out dancing

And other peoples, they have to work, Just watch me now! ...