Although weed might be becoming friendlier when it comes to the law, it isn’t necessarily becoming friendlier to the environment. Although much of the responsibility lies with growers, there are things you can do as a cannabis consumer to be more eco-friendly. You’ll be greener in no time if you read this article about how to be an eco-friendly stoner.
- 1. Choose organic cannabis
- 2. Buy local weed
- 3. Reuse the packaging
- 4. Avoid disposable vape pens
- 5. Smoke out of a pipe
- 6. If you must use papers, use hemp
- 7. Invest in a reusable ceramic filter
- 8. Don’t throw joint roaches everywhere
- 9. Use organic materials to clean your bong
- 10. Do as much DIY as possible
We recently published an article all about how to grow eco-friendly weed. But stoners can also contribute to a sustainable cannabis community! As legal weed becomes more mainstream, there are definitely ways that users can contribute to the eco-friendly side of things.
Unfortunately, there are many cannabis growers out there who are harming the environment. Purchasing weed that you know to be grown in unsustainable ways (because it’s cheaper, for example) means that you fuel the environmental disaster. Even the materials and paraphernalia that you use can contribute to the demise of the environment if you don’t choose carefully.
It is a combined effort of both the consumer and the cannabis industry to work towards a sustainable model of cannabis legalization. So we’re here with the advice you need to be an eco-friendly kind of stoner.
1. Choose organic cannabis
Let’s start in the most obvious place to start. If you want to take care of the environment, don’t choose weed that has been grown using chemicals. For starters, it’s bad for the very immediate environment around you called your human body. And aside from that, the soil and surrounding wildlife are affected greatly by the use of chemical pesticides.
So, buy from someone who’s an organic cannabis farmer!
2. Buy local weed
OK – this one isn’t always easy because not every place in the world is in an ideal location for growing cannabis.
But if your weed has had to travel the entire length of Europe to arrive in your pipe, you’re stacking up quite a carbon footprint. Supporting local growers is good for the community and it reduces the amount of pollution in the transport of cannabis.
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3. Reuse the packaging
Whether you’re buying cannabis tinctures, oils or herbal material, there is almost always packaging involved.
If your weed comes in small plastic containers, make the effort to reuse those containers for something. You can even take it back to the dispensary and restock in the same container. If you are purchasing products in glass bottles, you can refill them with other tinctures or oils. Recycle, recycle, recycle!
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4. Avoid disposable vape pens
It’s really tempting to buy pre-loaded vape pens. They come jam packed with all kinds of delicious contents that are hard to find outside of those vape pens. But be aware that every time you buy one, you’re unavoidably going to have to dispose of it. There’s a lot of plastic and mechanisms inside that just end up in landfill. Disposable vape pens are not sustainable at all.
For that matter, if you enjoy vaping, it’s better to invest in a good quality vape pen that is going to last for a long time. The truth is that the batteries inside vape pens contain some pretty harmful chemicals. The longer you can make it last, the better it is for your pocket and the environment.
5. Smoke out of a pipe
If you really want to participate in the environmentally sustainable future, don’t let joint smoking be a habit. At the end of the day, rolling papers are made out of trees. Smoking a pipe means that virtually nothing gets wasted. You also don’t need to spend as much money on buying rolling papers all the time!
6. If you must use papers, use hemp
If you absolutely can’t let go of smoking joints (for some of us, it’s at the core of the smoking experience), use hemp papers. Hemp grows fast and provides a lot of fibrous material for making paper and other materials. Although a lot of processing occurs to turn hemp into paper, it is a much faster replenishing source than regular tree-papers!
7. Invest in a reusable ceramic filter
This is where joint smokers can unite to produce no waste when it comes to smoking doobies. A reusable ceramic filter goes in the end of your joint to make the filter. Not only does it provide a smoother smoke, but it means that you don’t waste cardboard or paper making filter tips. Oh, and there’s nothing to throw away when you’re done smoking. Just give your filter a clean every now and then with a pipe cleaner to keep it in good shape.
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8. Don’t throw joint roaches everywhere
If you are using cardboard joint roaches, don’t be one of those people who goes throwing them over the fence into the neighbour’s yard. That is not really practicing the art of sustainability.
You should keep them in an ashtray and throw them away. If you’re smoking in the outdoors, make sure to bring a pocket ashtray. But leaving joint roaches around for other people to clean up is a big no-no.
9. Use organic materials to clean your bong
Now comes the matter of cleaning all of that smoking apparatus. A lot of products that are marked as “bong cleaners” are filled with chemicals that end up going down the sink.
There’s really no need for this seeing as some salt or rice and some rubbing alcohol is enough to get your bong shiny. And whatever ends up down the sink is organic, so there’s no need to fret. If you clean your bong once a week, that’s a lot of chemicals you can avoid putting straight back into the environment!
10. Do as much DIY as possible
If you want to be eco-friendly, making stuff at home is always the best way to go. You will always know what goes into your products and there will be no need for packaging.
If you can’t grow your own weed, that’s understandable. But where you can, make your own cannabutter, your own tinctures and your own topical treatments. This is the best way to reduce the carbon footprint and make yourself more knowledgeable in the way of making cannabis products!
Being eco-friendly is not particularly difficult. It just requires a little bit of extra attention to break some habits that you might have become accustomed to.
With these global shifts in cannabis laws, we can make big difference paying attention to the environment. If we take the necessary steps towards making this industry sustainable for the future!
