{"id":7805,"date":"2017-10-20T20:12:42","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T20:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com?p=2829091&amp;preview_id=2829091"},"modified":"2017-10-20T20:12:42","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T20:12:42","slug":"op-ed-americas-past-holds-clues-for-solving-current-issues-with-marijuana-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/op-ed-americas-past-holds-clues-for-solving-current-issues-with-marijuana-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Op-ed: America\u2019s past holds clues for solving current issues with marijuana industry"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/op-ed-americas-past-holds-clues-for-solving-current-issues-with-marijuana-industry\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"large-10 large-centered small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: Oct 20, 2017, 12:28 pm \u2022 Updated: Oct 21, 2017, 8:13 am<span class=\"single-comments-link\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <strong>Nick Johnson<\/strong>, <em> Special To The Cannabist<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Marijuana might not have given many Americans a hangover, but prohibition certainly did.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/10\/16\/prohibitionist-post-125-years-covering-colorados-love-hate-affair-alcohol-cannabis\/90101\/\">In 1917, Colorado banned cultivation and sale of the drug cannabis<\/a>, a peripheral yet legal medicine in early 20th-century America. Then, 95 years later on Nov. 6, 2012, Coloradans voted to re-legalize the plant and its products for adults 21 and older.<\/p>\n<p>While the legalization vote was widely celebrated as the dawn of a new, more rational era in American drug policy, few observers took the time to appreciate what happened in the interceding decades, and what those events might mean for the modern cannabis industry.<\/p>\n<p>As it turns out, two of the legal cannabis industry\u2019s most vexing problems \u2014 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/09\/21\/marijuana-industry-women-minorities\/88517\/\">racial inequality<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/10\/02\/california-marijuana-environmental-impact\/89084\/\">environmental neglect<\/a> \u2014 are hangovers from continuing federal prohibition. The sooner we recognize and appreciate this history, the sooner we can craft legislation and policy that will make marijuana legalization a truly progressive endeavor.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most popular talking points in pro-legalization circles is the fact that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2016\/04\/29\/op-ed-racism-bias-criminalized-marijuana\/52960\/\">racism toward blacks and Latinos played a major role<\/a> in the establishment of national marijuana prohibition via the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2016\/12\/28\/dea-marihuana-spelling-history\/69651\/\">Marihuana Tax Act<\/a> in 1937. This is true, but more broadly, marijuana prohibition was just one part of the institutional racism that systematically shut down educational and economic opportunities for black and Latino communities from the end of the Civil War through the present. The result was a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.demos.org\/sites\/default\/files\/publications\/RacialWealthGap_1.pdf\">huge wealth disparity<\/a> for black and brown America compared with white America. Producing, selling, and using illegal drugs has <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/decriminalization-doesnt-address-marijuanas-standing-as-a-drug-of-the-poor-42345\">long presented<\/a> the nation\u2019s poorer communities \u2014 regardless of skin color \u2014 an opportunity to make a living and cope with the everyday stresses of racism and poverty.<\/p>\n<p>This meant that the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/10\/19\/aclu-marijuana-pennsylvania-arrests\/90446\/\">War on Drugs took a disproportionate toll on communities of color<\/a>; again, this is common knowledge among advocates of legal marijuana. Less common is the realization that, because of this historical inequality, black and brown Americans were <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/06\/11\/marijuana-minority-business-racial-diversity\/81294\/\">not as well-positioned as white Americans<\/a> to benefit from the reversal of a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2016\/03\/23\/john-ehrlichman-war-on-drugs-richard-nixon-blacks-hippies\/50631\/\">policy that hammered their communities for decades<\/a>. States that have re-legalized cannabis have largely failed to address this opportunity gap in both rhetoric and policy. The result? A legal cannabis industry that is overwhelmingly dominated by white men \u2014 although there have been <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/09\/21\/marijuana-industry-women-minorities\/88517\/\">recent efforts<\/a> to change the dynamic.<\/p>\n<p>And while it\u2019s true that fewer minorities are going to jail for pot, ingrained prejudice and entrenched patterns of over-policing minority communities have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2016\/03\/25\/pot-legalization-hasnt-done-anything-to-shrink-the-racial-gap-in-drug-arrests\/50545\/\">maintained the disparity in marijuana arrests<\/a> between whites and non-whites \u2014 even in states that have legalized, and even though both groups <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2016\/10\/12\/decriminalization-marijuana-arrests-25-seconds-report\/65015\/\">use the drug at similar rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the crackdown on American marijuana growers that began in the latter part of the 20th century was, among other things, an environmental disaster. Yes, people\u2019s lives and livelihoods were disrupted and their possessions were <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/29\/dea-forfeiture-seizure-inspector-general-report\/76291\/\">unjustly confiscated<\/a> \u2014 another common (and true) refrain from legalization advocates \u2014 but growers\u2019 guerilla-like response to the War on Drugs effectively mainstreamed unsustainable and irresponsible agriculture.<\/p>\n<p>Determined to take advantage of the high prices encouraged by marijuana prohibition, growers moved indoors and deeper into public lands and other remote regions such as California\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/emerald-triangle\/\">\u201cEmerald Triangle<\/a>.\u201d Indoors, innovative but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2016\/02\/29\/this-could-be-a-big-problem-for-the-booming-marijuana-industry\/48734\/\">energy-intensive<\/a> lighting and cooling systems widened the crop\u2019s energy footprint; outdoors, unregulated cultivation disrupted and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/04\/03\/illegal-marijuana-farmers-environment-chemicals\/76527\/\">polluted ecosystems<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The environmental problems only got worse after states began legalizing medical marijuana in the 1990s, as more and more outlaw growers flocked to places like California and Oregon to capitalize on the cover of a gray market.<\/p>\n<p>Campaigns to legalize marijuana in Colorado and elsewhere largely ignored environmental issues tied to cultivation. Lost in supporters\u2019 jubilation after the legalization votes in 2012 was the fact that Colorado and Washington voters had just legalized a hugely popular crop just as their states began to feel the effects of an <a href=\"http:\/\/climate.colostate.edu\/pdfs\/drought_2012.pdf\">awful drought<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"figure wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/op-ed-americas-past-holds-clues-for-solving-current-issues-with-marijuana-industry.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"269\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-60341\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trash and other items found during a raid of an illegal marijuana cultivation in Colorado\u2019s San Isabel National Forest. (Provided by U.S. Forest Service)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Widespread injustice under federal marijuana prohibition made activists more concerned with the broad concept of legalization, while decades of prohibitionist rhetoric about cannabis as an \u201cillegal narcotic\u201d and \u201cSchedule I substance\u201d made state politicians more concerned about regulating marijuana the drug instead of cannabis the crop. For instance, not once in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colorado.gov\/cms\/forms\/dor-tax\/A64TaskForceFinalReport.pdf\">266-page report<\/a> did Colorado\u2019s Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force mention the word \u201cwater.\u201d Washington state conducted just one <a href=\"https:\/\/lcb.wa.gov\/publications\/Marijuana\/BOTEC%20reports\/5d_Environmental_Risks_and_Opportunities_in_Cannabis_Cultivation_Revised.pdf\">third-party study<\/a> on marijuana\u2019s environmental impact. Oregon, which also legalized in a drought year, did better, but with federal prohibition buoying the price of illegal marijuana, black-market cultivation remains a lucrative enterprise.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, states have recently been paying more attention to this problem. California\u2019s new <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/06\/15\/california-marijuana-laws-rules-organic-delivery\/81616\/\">legalization plan<\/a> includes strict environmental parameters, and nearly every state with legal recreational marijuana now regulates the use of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/08\/07\/marijuana-pesticides-risk-epa\/85471\/\">pesticides<\/a>. Denver Water representatives are increasingly \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.yourwatercolorado.org\/cfwe-education\/connecting-the-drops\/801-water-for-weed\">impressed<\/a>\u201d with conservation efforts from marijuana cultivators. Outdoor and greenhouse cultivation is becoming <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/07\/27\/canada-greenhouse-cannabis-cultivation-massachusetts\/82609\/\">more attractive<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/31\/cannabis-industry-energy-use-declining\/76454\/\">viable<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>These are all important steps, but advocates and authorities involved in cannabis legalization must continue to reflect and act on lessons from the plant\u2019s history under decades of prohibition. States that have legalized must embrace <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/05\/31\/cannabis-industry-minority-owners-incentives\/80425\/\">plans to boost minorities and women in the industry<\/a> and other efforts to make the cannabis industry more socially inclusive. They must establish green energy standards and continue pushing the industry toward greenhouse and outdoor cultivation. Contrary to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/31\/colorado-governor-john-hickenlooper-marijuana-2017\/76411\/\">Gov. John Hickenlooper\u2019s \u201cwait and see\u201d advice<\/a>, states that have legalized must call loudly for an end to federal prohibition that is the main driver of environmentally harmful, black-market growing.<\/p>\n<p>Prohibition has given the marijuana industry quite a hangover, but strong leadership based on an appreciation for history may be just the seltzer it needs.<\/p>\n<p><em>Nick Johnson is an historian based in Longmont, Colorado. He is the author of the new book <a href=\"http:\/\/osupress.oregonstate.edu\/book\/grass-roots\">Grass Roots: A History of Cannabis in the American West<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-meta-tags\">\n<div class=\"entry-tags\">Topics: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/alcohol\/\" rel=\"tag\">alcohol<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/commentary\/\" rel=\"tag\">commentary<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/cultivation\/\" rel=\"tag\">cultivation<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/environment\/\" rel=\"tag\">environment<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/environmental-impact\/\" rel=\"tag\">environmental impact<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/farming\/\" rel=\"tag\">farming<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/legalization\/\" rel=\"tag\">legalization<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/minorities\/\" rel=\"tag\">minorities<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/prohibition\/\" rel=\"tag\">prohibition<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/racial-disparity\/\" rel=\"tag\">racial disparity<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/state-laws\/\" rel=\"tag\">state laws<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/war-on-drugs\/\" rel=\"tag\">war on drugs<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/tag\/water\/\" rel=\"tag\">water<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Lessons from a troubled history of marijuana prohibition can make for a more sustainable and more inclusive cannabis industry today. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[45,6970,6813,77,5577,6933,5667,9,5019,7355,1,3,173,7356,61,1736],"tags":[2628,6972,6818,2655,5580,6934,5673,5022,7357,2751,7358],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7805"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7805\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}