Pubdate: Fri, 04 Dec 2015
Source: Metro (Vancouver, CN BC)
Copyright: 2015 Metro Canada
Contact:  http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3775
Author: Emily Jackson
Page: 4

VANCOUVER ENTREPRENEUR PUSHES FOR GREENER MARIJUANA CULTIVATION

Pot advocate urges growers to cut carbon footprint

British Columbians often boast about their green lifestyles, whether
they're biking to work, eating local produce or spending the weekend
outdoors.

But when they light up a joint - and 15 per cent admit they've done so
in the past year, according to Statistics Canada - their green
lifestyles go up in smoke.

Marijuana has a massive carbon footprint due to the high energy
required to light indoor growing operations. B.C. Hydro estimates
illegal grow ops steal at least $100 million worth of electricity from
its grid annually, and a 2012 peer-reviewed report estimated one per
cent of energy use in the U.S. goes to cannabis cultivation.

Vancouver entrepreneur Dan Sutton wants to change that. Sutton, the
managing director at under construction marijuana producer Tantalus
Labs, is campaigning for greener operations in an industry on the
precipice of monumental change should the Liberal government follow
through with its promise to legalize the drug.

Instead of growing marijuana under high-powered lights, Sutton's Maple
Ridge facility in the Agricultural Land Reserve uses sunlight to grow
the plants in a greenhouse.

"This isn't your grandma's greenhouse," Sutton said at his shared
Gastown office space on Thursday. It's secured, uses specialized fans
and humidity controls, and it will be Western Canada's largest
marijuana producer when it officially opens in January (pending a
final government inspection), he said.

Sutton joins a movement of greenhouse growers from south of the border
and Ontario. He's evangelical about the growing method and the
resulting product, which he says grows faster, taller and healthier
with more potent smells.

"Sun offers a far higher intensity, broader lighter spectrum=C2=85 no
artificial light can hold a candle to it," he said.

Plus, he claims it's a "substantially" cheaper method than traditional
grow ops.

If it's better, cheaper and more environmentally friendly, then why
don't more producers grow this way? Sutton blames the stealth required
for an industry that has long operated outside the legal framework.

"It forced people to keep it in the shadows," he said, adding
producers are now entrenched in what they know as the best way to grow
marijuana. As for environment-loving cannabis consumers, he figures
they're too preoccupied with the stigma surrounding buying weed to
worry about its carbon footprint.

Sutton, who recently gave a TEDx talk on the topic, advocates for
government tax incentives to build more environmentally friendly
facilities. He encourages other entrepreneurs to build greenhouses to
reduce energy and save cash, and calls on consumers to vote with their
wallets. People will pay extra for Tesla's electric cars and Whole
Foods organic produce, so why not marijuana, he argues.

"If we were to switch all cannabis indoors to greenhouses, we'd save
the energy equivalent all the residences in Seattle, Vancouver, San
Francisco and Portland," he said. "It's not a drop in the bucket."

People can support his campaign for sun grown marijuana at
www.teamsungrown.com
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MAP posted-by: Matt