(WASHINGTON, DC) -- Marijuana is the nation's most
energy-intensive crop and federal prohibition makes it difficult for the
industry to clean up its act, Politico's Natalie Fertig and Gavin Bade report.
Roughly two-thirds of Americans now live in states with some
form of legal sales. But as the market expands, regulators and activists are
pushing the industry to become more efficient — and that might require federal
legalization. Because marijuana is banned under federal law, cannabis cannot be
regulated, nor can its environmental effects be researched by EPA. It also
means it cannot be traded across state lines, leading to inefficient, indoor
growing operations in states that would simply source their raw product from
elsewhere were it legal, the pair reports. And in most cases, banks are banned
from providing loans that would allow growers to make sustainability upgrades.
"You have this crazy supply-demand imbalance in the cannabis industry," said Allyson Browne, an independent cannabis policy
consultant with a background in renewable energy. "You have markets that
are being forced to produce all of their demands within their market, and that
may not be the most efficient way to operate."
