How green is that joint? There is much debate about the social, economic and health impacts of legalising ganja, but what does it mean for the environment?
Ganja cultivation, like any form of agriculture, has serious, negative environmental impacts. It is a shame that the environment is not factored into the discussion. Legalising marijuana can be a good thing for T&T's forests. It will reduce deforestation, save wildlife, improve water quality and make some no-go zones in the forest, safe again.
Few cultivators are foolish enough to grow ganja in their backyard. The chosen locations are in difficult-to-access forested State lands, far away from prying eyes. Trees are felled to make place for the herb. In the growing process chemicals are used that pollute water resources and poison wildlife. Fragile soils are eroded and fertilisers overload waters with nutrients. This affects everything from the forest to the reef.
Undoubtedly slash-and-burn marijuana cultivators set some of the forest fires that ravage the Northern Range. Reforestation workers have reported that they have to avoid certain areas for fear of suffering the wrath of ganja planters.
Criminalising marijuana makes growing the herb lucrative. Marijuana plantations are worth hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars. That is the kind of money that people will kill for. To protect cannabis fields, growers place trap guns that main and kill indiscriminately. The result is that some parts of Trinidad's forests are virtual no-go zones, where only ganja planters and poachers know how to roam without triggering tripwires.
If the marijuana is imported from one of the neighbouring islands, say St Vincent, then a large carbon footprint has to be added to this environmental cost for transporting the herb to T&T.
There is a lot of hard work, discomfort and risk involved in maintaining these remote, well-protected plantations. The profits make it worthwhile.
If marijuana is legalised, and granny can plant cannabis next to her crotons, to grow some to ease her arthritis pains, a lot of things will change. The price will plummet. The economics of planting cannabis will be no different from cultivating sweet potatoes. Ganja planters will not be willing to make long treks in to the forest to do backbreaking slash and burn agriculture for small money. The deep forest will get a respite, as marijuana cultivation is moved to agricultural lands, where it belongs. Nobody places trap guns to protect sweet potato fields.
Once the plantations are removed from forests on state lands, Forestry Division can resume its task of policing previous no-go zones. Illegal logging, poaching and quarrying will be reduced. This is a great example of how the law can influence the market to benefit the environment, and public safety.
Relocating marijuana fields to agricultural lands will not make its cultivation less dependent on pesticides and fertilisers. In an ideal world, and we need to change a lot about how we approach agriculture in T&T to achieve this, the Ministry of Agriculture would regulate what chemicals are used, and even how much fertilizer is applied. That vision is miles away from what agricultural policy is today, but decriminalisation makes the discussion of sustainable ganja growing a discussion item.
Once again the market will kick in. Free to market their brand, growers will compete with each other to sell the best product and that can be taxed.
One can imagine marijuana as an agroforestry product that gives another income opportunity for struggling cocoa estates. Beekeepers can differentiate themselves by offering honey made by bees fed on cannabis. The possibilities are endless.
Growing organic weed will be a value-added choice for farmers who want to sell to users, who, rightly or wrongly, are categorized as conscious, earth-loving folk.
T&T is still some ways off from having its own organic guidelines and certified products, but decriminalisation opens that door for ganja. Who knows what kind of chemicals illegal planters use? Fellas who use trap guns will have no ethics about pesticide use either.
Decriminalising marijuana is the right thing to do for the environment. It will reduce deforestation and poaching; allow the forests to be better policed and open the door to responsible agricultural practices and create new, taxable products.