Recently, the struggle to keep energy costs down in large-scale grow operations has been all over the news due to increasing and often crippling costs of power for these facilities. Growing marijuana indoors is simply very expensive due to high monthly costs for lights, filtration, aeration, etc. Many dispensaries have energy bills in the tens of thousands of dollars every month.
While some dispensary owners in Colorado and Washington are choosing to face the high energy costs of production head on, many are looking for alternate routes. Greenhouse grows have been popping up all over Colorado in recent months due to generally lower costs for lighting, and many in the southern part of the state have developed large outdoor cultivation sites to save money.
In addition to being less expensive than indoor growing, outdoor cultivation is far more environmentally friendly due to less energy use and reduced emissions. The environment in many parts of California is absolutely perfect for outdoor growing, which is one of the reasons it has taken place on a large scale in the State for so many years. Recently, however, outdoor growing is under attack by local governments in California and could potentially receive a state-wide ban. The Marijuana Business Daily recently wrote a piece on the increase in proposed outdoor cultivation bans, saying:
“More than 300 people, mostly medical cannabis patients and growers, attended a meeting in Yuba County, California, as supervisors considered a ban on outdoor marijuana cultivation.
About 45 people spoke during the event in which supervisors considered three ordinances from other counties – Sacramento, Shasta and Fresno – that all ban outdoor grows in the wake of court rulings allowing them to impose severe restrictions on cannabis cultivation, according to the Appeal-Democrat.
Patients told county supervisors a ban on outdoor grows was a bad idea during a three-hour workshop, while others were in favor of the moratorium, saying they’ve seen their neighborhoods turned into a “war zone,” the newspaper said.”
We at Leafbuyer think that bans on outdoor cultivation is a terrible idea. Not only is It bad for the environment, it would also cripple the ability of many caregivers in California to provide medicine for their patients due to massive increases in cost of production. Many growers in California simply can’t afford to grow indoor due to the incredibly high equipment and energy costs discussed above. To ban outdoor cultivation would essentially shut these growers down for good, leaving their patients without the medicine they need. This is simply not the right choice.
