Earth Day 2022: How the Cannabis Community Can Invest in Our Planet
We need to act boldly, innovate consciously, and implement environmental restoration quickly! It’s going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens — everyone accounted for and accountable. If we come together as a community and set environmental change in motion, we can build a healthy future for our generation and the generations to come.
Earth Day 2022: “Invest in Our Planet, What Will You Do?”
The theme for Earth Day 2022 is “Invest In Our Planet.” What investments can the cannabis community make in 2022 to ensure a healthy future? Read on to find out!
Happy 420: A Wake-Up Call to Eco-friendly Cannabis Consumption
The entire cannabis industry depends on the health of our land and water. Without clean soil, clean water, and a clean growing environment, the cannabis community would quickly dissipate. Earth Day is a good day to start incorporating sustainable changes into your cannabis regimen, but so is every day that we celebrate with cannabis. Think back to the last 4/20 or 7/10 cannabis holiday you celebrated. How did you and your friends give back to our planet? Below is a list of 3 things you can do this year to help the earth while consuming cannabis.
1. Limit Cannabis Packaging Waste
Reuse cannabis containers and exit bags as often as possible. Call around and find out if any of your local cannabis dispensaries have a container recycling program. They can also tell you if their dispensary has a policy against reusing previous cannabis containers. Find environmentally friendly shops that offer sustainable solutions for the high amount of single-use plastics in the cannabis industry.
2. Purchase Eco-Friendly
Find eco-friendly cannabis companies and support them so they can continue leaving a positive environmental impact by prioritizing sustainability in the production of their cannabis products. Moose Labs is a California-based company that creates alternative harm-reduction innovations for the cannabis industry. They are taking environmental restoration very seriously this Earth Day by releasing a new smoke filter that is 100% bio-degradable and made with natural corn fibers.
“Ironically, the cannabis industry isn’t very ‘green,’ so a major goal of ours this year is to find ways to make clean cannabis consumption habits less wasteful,” says Jay Rush, Co-Founder of Moose Labs. With Moose Labs’ new biodegradable and eco-friendly filters, you can feel good about making a change for our Earth and your health! Shop with Moose Labs today to maintain clean lungs and a clean planet.
2. Keep It Green
I like my environment how I like my weed: green, clean, and constantly growing! The Earth works hard to supply humanity with food, water, shelter, and even natural medicine. If we want to continue thriving off of our planet’s resources, we must put time and effort into making Earth happy and healthy. Do your part as a member of the cannabis community, and make sure that your smoking and cannabis consumption methods are eco-friendly and sustainable.
Sustainable Tips for the Cannabis Consumer
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Leave It Better Than You Found It:
I was a scouts member as a kid back in my hometown. Our troop leader hollered the same phrase after every camp trip. “Leave it better than you found it!” This phrase became some of the most valuable advice ever given to me.
I used to think that I was doing my fair share by cleaning up after myself. However, I realized that doing my fair share isn't always enough. Some people litter deliberately or unintentionally, and they have been doing it for many years! To begin reversing the effects of litter on Earth, we need to clean up after ourselves and others!
Leave nature better than you found it by bringing a medium-large garbage bag on any outdoor adventures such as hiking, going to the beach, visiting the park, etc. Use this bag for any garbage that you need to dispose of and for any non-hazardous litter left in the area by others.
My friends and I like smoking a joint before heading down to the park for a picnic and a quick trash pick-up. When you are high with friends, even monotonous tasks like picking up trash can feel like a fun game. Plus, smoking cannabis feels guilt-free when you are doing your part to clean the environment. Grab a joint, a trash bag, and some friends to celebrate cannabis and Earth Day in the best way.
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Find a New Use for Plastic Waste
Do you know those little glass jars or the pop-top containers that store our dispensary flower? Well, if you are anything like me, you probably have 10+ sitting around your house right now. If you can’t recycle these containers or return them to the dispensary, try to find new uses for them before throwing them in the garbage.
You can turn glass jars into candles, portable snack containers, or seedling planters. As for the plastic pop-tops, try using them to store small items like push-pins, paperclips, or jewelry for travel-safe storage. Get creative and find new and interesting ways to reuse your cannabis containers.
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Participate in Changing the Way Cannabis is Cultivated
To make our voices heard, improve the health of our environment, and help our Earth out, we must join together and initiate change. The rise in commercial cannabis has led to overproduction, injured land, toxic water, and high pollution. If we allow this damage to continue, we will soon run out of all Earth’s resources. Which, of course, means no more cannabis.
The Water Protector Legal Collective is an indigenous-led legal nonprofit that provides support and advocacy for Earth’s climate justice movements, environmental restoration, and safety for the water protectors who are out there fighting for a change. Donate to the Water Protector Legal Collective and take the time to learn more about their work.
As individuals within the cannabis community, our voices are strong and impact change. The best way to improve the environmentally damaging conditions of the cannabis industry is to educate ourselves on sustainable production and packaging practices and become familiar with the cultivation methods used by the brands you support.
Sustainable Cultivation in the Cannabis Industry
As science progresses and the environmental crisis becomes more evident, we are witnessing a shift in the cannabis business to put effort into sustainable cultivation. As stated by Kristen Ruby-Cisneros in an article published by the Journal of Environmental Health, cannabis cultivation is energy-intensive and expensive. For this reason, cannabis industry leaders strive for environmental sustainability.
Sustainable Cannabis Cultivation Practices
With stoner culture largely consisting of tree-huggers and hippie types, you’d think that the cannabis industry would prioritize limiting waste, pollution, and energy use. However, with the rise of commercial cannabis and the lack of regulation, many industry cultivation methods are far from sustainable. When choosing cannabis products that are sustainably cultivated, there are a few things to consider:
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Clean, Green, Certified
The Clean Green Certification Program works with organic cannabis cultivation farms to ensure safe growing conditions by regulating pesticide use and organic cultivation techniques. Clean Green Certification is the top certifier for eco-friendly cannabis globally. Look for the Clean Green Certified Logo on cannabis products, or take some time to verify that the weed you consume is properly regulated.
Proper regulation is especially relevant as decriminalization laws are sweeping through the U.S. Furthermore, some states have legalized the use of medical and recreational marijuana, setting the stage for other states to follow. Who know’s what the future of cannabis looks like on a federal level, but we sure do see a rise in the U.S.’s perceptions of marijuana. This shift in awareness and acceptance makes cannabis an excellent candidate to focus our efforts on more sustainable ways of growing cannabis!
Outdoor vs. Indoor Grown Cannabis
Weed that grows indoors requires a lot more energy to maintain as opposed to cannabis grown outdoors (sun-grown). To simulate proper growing conditions indoors entirely from scratch, you must have the energy to power strong grow lights, filter waste water, and manage other environmental variables like temperature, humidity, and soil pH/nutrients.
Sun-grown Cannabis is cultivated using significantly less energy than indoor cultivations. Outdoor cannabis grows in natural sunlight and produces minimal water waste. Outdoor cannabis often gets a bad wrap because of the stigma that indoor weed is more potent. However, when grown correctly, outdoor buds can easily achieve higher levels of THC, terpenes, and other therapeutic cannabinoids compared to indoor buds.
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Do You Know Who Grows Your Weed?
Spend some time getting to know the brands sold in your local cannabis store. Do some light research on the brand, the growers, a presence of eco-friendly values, and their cultivation techniques/guidelines/regulations. Knowing what you put into your body is important! So is becoming familiar with the company certifications and cultivation practices behind your favorite cannabis products.
H2 - Support Eco-Conscious Cannabis Brands
Our dollar really does the talking when it comes down to the eco-friendly impact of the cannabis industry. By supporting brands who are intentional in their farming or practice sustainable production methods, we motivate less sustainable brands to make the right choice and practice environmental awareness.
Step up and support eco-conscious cannabis brands like Moose Labs, who are putting in real effort to see positive environmental changes in the cannabis industry. Moose Labs has two goals this year:
- Help filter harmful contaminants from weed smoke
- Help provide eco-friendly filtration to all cannabis consumers.
Final Thoughts
There are many ways for the cannabis community to invest in our planet and help restore environmental health on Earth. Find joy in strengthening your knowledge and practice of sustainability because the simple shifts we make to better the environment now, the brighter our future becomes.
Support eco-friendly brands and purchase biodegradable products like the Moose Labs Corn Fiber Filters. These filters are environmentally sustainable and reduce the inhalation of harmful tar and resins in cannabis smoke. If you want to learn more about filtering your cannabis smoke for a cleaner and healthier high, click here.