As the recreational marijuana market legalizes, industrial indoor marijuana manufacturing facilities are likely to proliferate. Like any other industry, these facilities will have an environmental impact. Based on current industry practices, indoor marijuana production is assumed to have a high energy use intensity, in addition to a high use of chemical fertilizers and some utilization of pesticides and fungicides.
When comparing consumption-based carbon emissions from common consumer products, beer and beef, to marijuana grown indoors, we see the following impact:
Marijuana: 1 gram (indoor) = 10 pounds of co2 emissions
Beer: 6-pack = 7 pounds of co2 emissions
Beef: 1 pound = 50.5 pounds of co2 emissions
Learn more about some of the environmental impacts of indoor marijuana growing in this two-page policy brief on indoor marijuana production.