A pair of GOP congressmen is asking key cabinet officials in the Biden administration to study the environmental impacts of marijuana cultivation—acknowledging both the intensive electrical demand that growing cannabis can involve as well as the role that legalization can play in setting regulations for the plant.
Reps. Earl Carter (R-GA) and Doug Lamborn (R-CO) sent the letter to the heads of the Department of Energy (DOE), Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Energy Information Administration on Monday.
It argues that, as Congress considers legislation to federally legalize marijuana, lawmakers need to better understand “serious concerns regarding the energy and resource-intensive nature of marijuana cultivation.”
The anti-legalization lawmakers said that they have “reservations regarding marijuana cultivation’s subsequent emissions and believe more research is needed on this industry’s rapidly growing demands on our country’s energy systems, along with its effects on our environment.”
The letter isn’t necessarily advocating against legalization, despite the overall prohibitionist views of the signatories. And it even recognizes differences in the impacts of regulated state markets and illicit operations, which is a point of bipartisan interest.
“The legalization of marijuana in several states has fueled a sharp increase in the supply of marijuana products coming to market,”
Read full article on Marijuana Moment
