Cannabis

Introduction
            Drugs aren’t a new phenomenon, as seen with heavy tobacco use in 16th century London, and the Opium Wars of the 1840’s.[1] This includes Cannabis, a plant that has been cultivated for millennia, and is enjoyed today by many. When our parents were growing up the public support for the federal legalization of cannabis was minimal, a stark contrast to the current generation of young adults in California, and various others states where cannabis is legal for medicinal andrecreational use. Woodstock took place in 1969, and in this almost half century gap of time since then there has been mass amounts controversy and discussion that have surrounded Cannabis. Whether it be criminal activity (conversely, retroactive pardons), environmental damage and pollution, medicinal benefits, or taxation and revenue, there are a variety of issues and discussions taking place in the industry. While your average marijuana user has no interest other than the effects of the drug, it’s important to consider the bigger picture surrounding cannabis and its cultivation. With legalization looking more likely across the country, how will we regulate the industry? How will society balance the economic and environmental impacts of cannabis? This paper will focus on the history of cannabis, and seek to analyze the environmental ethics aspect of cannabis cultivation, along with the commons and institutional aspect of cannabis.
 
Short History of Cannabis
​
Cannabis has been used for many centuries due to the versatility of the plant. In fact it has been suggested that it is the one of the oldest cultivated crops on the planet, with cultivation starting almost 12,000 years ago. Two species have been the main players over time: Cannabis sativa L (hemp) and Cannabis sativa (marijuana). Hemp has been used to manufacture and produce things like rope, clothing, paper and even sails. Marijuana, the focus of this paper, comes from cultivation of female plants and it produces a sticky, psychoactive substance known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It is with the rise of capitalism and the world economic system that we see Cannabis become a worldwide commodity. It’s history in the United States has been rocky, and has long been outlawed in many parts of the country. During the 1960’s its popularity skyrocketed thanks to increased usage by middle class individuals expanding from more traditional usage by lower-income minority populations, and due to more liberalized thinking brought on by the Vietnam War. It hasn’t been until recently that certain states have begun to legalize recreational use, and the federal government still considers it illegal.[2] 


Environmental Ethics Lens


When it comes to cannabis, increased or mass cultivation has brought on new environmental problems that growers, and governments will need to address in the coming years. In the context of California, the crop can require up to 22 liters of water per day, and at times the demands for water exceed the actual amount of water flowing in nearby rivers, leaving less water for aquatic life downstream.[3] This issue is something particularly close to home for Humboldt locals, as there are 4,000 trespass grows on federal lands and 10,000 on private lands in the county alone.[4] As mentioned before, with an increase in cultivation we will see an increase in demands for water, so how has this affected wildlife and the local ecosystem? According to a study published by HSU’s Sociology department, the rapid expansion of these grows have polluted and dewatered streams and watersheds, killed wildlife, and are destroying the forest.[5] Not only are these grows trespassing on federal land, they are harming the environment of Native American lands belonging to local tribes. These grows also use mass amounts of rodenticides to protect their irrigation lines, and has been linked to the poisoning of animals such as mule deer, gray foxes, coyotes, northern spotted owls and ravens.[6] 

            What we me must ask ourselves next in regards to the cultivation of cannabis is how we plan to conserve our natural resources like water while needing more water now more than ever. Conservation, “the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources,”[7] is something that we should always be striving to practice if we are seeking to build a sustainable future. With legalization, the regulation of cannabis can address environmental issues associated with cultivation according to Jennifer Carah, senior scientist in the water program at The Nature Conservancy of California.[8]In my opinion legalization could possibly be a more ecocentric solution than an anthropocentric one because it can benefit the environment and our natural resources. If we want to protect the environment, legalization seems to provide at least a pathway to curbing potential problems caused by illegal operations. 
 
Commons Lens
            “The Tragedy of the Commons” comes to mind when considering the cannabis industry because like any industry in a capitalist system, there are bound to be some sort of crises that will occur. The most relevant commons in the textbook to this paper is referred to as 
‘ingenious flowing commons: Irrigation.”[9] Grow sites are operated on a smaller scale, but the water that sustains them is supposed to be managed collectively by all users of the irrigation network.[10] With the amount of illegal growing sites in Humboldt County it becomes harder to figure out who’s consuming the majority of the water, and thus stunts water conservation progress by environmental groups.[11] On the other side of the coin however, some argue that social relationships around illegal marijuana production and distribution are “more consonant with the values of mutual aid, cooperation, reciprocity, self-management, and the re-distribution of wealth” than legal operations.[12] However pure the intentions of traditional or private growers may be, it is important for the collective population to have the ability to monitor water usage and other natural resources being consumed by marijuana cultivation. If the federal government was to legalize marijuana then perhaps it become less dangerous for conservation groups to investigate these things and resolve conflicts amongst users and governments.[13] I also think it would be able to create a whole new sector of jobs that could stimulate cities, or even rural economies. 


Conclusion
            
            Even though cannabis has been around for thousands of years, in the United States the legal industry is still in its infancy. While the tax revenue that comes from legalization is an enticing reason on its own, it may be the environmental benefits that will convince society to pursue it. We like to think that we’ve progressed as a society, but what our current situation reminds me of is the 1920’s and Prohibition, 100 years ago. Marijuana has been perceived by more conservative leaning people of the country as “dangerous” or even “immoral,” and these same things were said during Prohibition about alcohol. What we missed out on during those years was tremendous tax revenue that could’ve possibly helped prevent the Great Depression. As a 26-year-old man, I’ve lived through two recessions now, and now I wonder what sort of economic benefits a vast legal marijuana market would do for every day Americans and financial inequality. At the same time, it is important to acknowledge the negative along with the positive, and that means focusing on the environmental impact on unchecked, illegal growers. Managing our environmental impact is more important than ever, and the need for regulation is more important than ever with destruction of ecosystems. My hope for my state of California is that we continue to innovate and work towards more sustainable systems of managing our natural resources while cultivating a crop that can bring immense economic growth to the state. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Works Cited
 
Everett, Yvonne. "A Challenge to Socio-Ecological Resilience: Community Based Resource Management Organizations’ Perceptions and Responses to Cannabis Cultivation in Northern California." Humboldt Journal of Social Relations 40 (2018): 89-115. Accessed December 16, 2020. https://www.jstor.org/stable/90023267.
 
Helmer, Jodi. “The Environmental Downside of Cannabis Cultivation.” JSTOR Daily. June 18, 2019. https://daily.jstor.org/the-environmental-downside-of-cannabis-cultivation/.
 
Robbins, Paul, John Hintz and Sarah A. Moore. Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, Chapters 4 and 5. (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2014), accessed December 16, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central.
 
Thunderstorm, June. "Smoked Out: The Great Enclosure of the Marijuana Commons." The Baffler, no. 36 (2017): 130-38. Accessed December 16, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44466640.
 
Warf, Barney. “High Points: An Historical Geography of Cannabis.” Geographical Review 104, no. 4 (October 2014): 414–38. doi:10.1111/j.1931-0846.2014.12038.x.

Endnotes
[1] Barney Warf, “High Points: An Historical Geography of Cannabis,” Geographical Review 104, no. 4 (October 2014), 414, (url provided in works cited).

[2] The section of this paper titled: “A Short History of Cannabis” uses information found in Warf, “High Points” 416, 417, 419, 425, 428, 430-431.

[3] Jodi Helmer, “The Environmental Downside of Cannabis Cultivation,” JSTOR Daily, June 18, 2019, https://daily.jstor.org/the-environmental-downside-of-cannabis-cultivation/.

[4] Yvonne Everett, “A Challenge to Socio-Ecological Resilience: Community Based Resource Management Organizations’ Perceptions and Responses to Cannabis Cultivation in Northern California,” Humboldt Journal of Social Relations 40, 2018, 97,  https://www.jstor.org/stable/90023267.

[5] Everett, “Challenge to Socio-Ecological Resilience,” 94.

[6] Helmer, “The Environmental Downside,” JSOTR Daily.

[7] Paul Robbins, John Hintz and Sarah A. Moore, Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, Chapter 5: Environmental Ethics, (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2014), 70, accessed December 16, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central.

[8] Helmer, “The Environmental Downside,” JSOTR Daily.

[9] Paul Robbins, John Hintz and Sarah A. Moore, Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction, Chapter 4: Institutions and ‘The Commons,’(Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2014), 59, accessed December 16, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central.

[10] Robbins, et al., “Chapter 4: Institutions and ‘The Commons.,’” 59.

[11] Everett, “Challenge to Socio-Ecological Resilience,” 94.

[12] June Thunderstorm, “Smoked Out: The Great Enclosure of the Marijuana Commons,” The Baffler, no. 36 (Fall 2017), 134, https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/44466640.pdf?ab_segments=0%252Fbasic_SYC-5187_SYC-5188%252Fcontrol&refreqid=excelsior%3Ac492f10e31a5e504cec925ca9e74d0d.

[13] Robbins, et al., “Chapter 4: Institutions and ‘The Commons.,’” 58.