The cannabis plant is multifaceted and has the potential to do the world loads of good. From helping the sick to acting as an alternative to plastics, there’s a lot the plant can do. But while the potential to help the environment is certainly there, the legal industry’s negative impact is also a concern. According to a new report, cannabis may be doing more harm to the earth than previously thought.
The white paper from Evan Mills of California-based consulting firm Energy Associates states that indoor cannabis cultivation is generating a concerning amount of carbon emissions. The analysis suggests indoor weed grows across the country use more power than all other outdoor agriculture combined.
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The indoor cultivation process is energy-intensive, there’s no question. Lights, heating and cooling, dehumidifiers, watering systems, and fans all take a lot of juice. Mills writes that annual emissions from the cannabis industry are equal to that of 10 million cars or 6 million homes.
That’s not the only sector of the legal industry gobbling up energy. Regulations demanding each plant have plastic tracking tags and requiring child-safe packaging with a novel’s worth of information and warnings also cause concern. Transportation, storage, and waste also contribute to the market’s carbon emissions.
Indoor cannabis cultivation in the US uses more energy than:
~ Crypto
~ 1/3 of data centers
~ All outdoor agriculture combined 😶Energy/emissions from indoor cannabis grows have ~tripled~ since 2012…https://t.co/4CcgcTA6og
— James Dinneen (@jamesNESW) February 5, 2025
A solution to the problem
Many within the industry have recognized the environmental concerns and are working toward change. From deploying more energy-efficient practices in production to developing vape recycling programs, a small amount of progress has been made. However, Mills’ report says there’s only one thing that could truly change the game for the better: grow under the sun.
“The most promising avenue could reduce emissions by up to 76% by shifting more cultivation outdoors,” Mills writes.
Cannabis farmers have been cultivating outside for generations. However, a state-by-state piecemeal approach has meant sungrown weed from places like the Emerald Triangle cannot be exported to states where outdoor cannabis is not sustainable (or legal) at scale. Mills believes a shift in policy as well as consumer education about the benefits of sungrown could help tip the scales.
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Judi Nelson, co-owner of Sol Spirit Farm, has been advocating for regenerative practices and sensible legislation in cannabis for years. She previously told GreenState that a lack of direct-to-consumer sales and monocropping requirements in California state law have had an undue environmental burden. However, it’s the large indoor facilities that are the planet’s true enemy.
“By my math, you can transport an eighth of sun-grown 16 million miles by train before you would equal the carbon footprint of growing that eighth indoors…Even better if we could ship through the mail across state lines,” Nelson said.
The legal cannabis market will only get bigger as time moves on. Concerns over the environmental impact of the supply chain must be addressed sooner rather than later, particularly as climate change continues to take hold. Fortunately, there are some in the industry working to make the space more sustainable but it’s going to take a massive shift to truly tip the scales.
