Despite the many challenges of growing cannabis in arid climates, there are some potential benefits. For instance, the low humidity makes it difficult for mold to form, and common pests that prefer damp environments are less likely to affect cannabis plants in drier regions.
The Arctic is a harsh environment for growing cannabis because of the frigid temperatures, long periods of darkness during the winter, and short, cooler summers. This makes outdoor cannabis growing almost impossible without substantial intervention and innovation.
Cannabis plants require significant light to grow, and the limited daylight hours in Arctic regions severely hinder natural plant development. Even greenhouses in these areas are logistically and financially challenging because of the cannabis plants’ growth environment needs.
Some cannabis cultivators do grow their cannabis plants outdoors, however, using auto-flowering or “day-neutral” cannabis strains as an alternative. These strains do not depend on light cycles to trigger flowering but mature based on age. This allows growers to work around the short summers of the Arctic.
Auto-flowering strains also grow more rapidly than non-auto-flowering strains but still require careful growth methods. Cannabis cultivators can further manipulate light cycles by covering plants with blackout material or using light deprivation techniques that mimic shortening daylight hours and trigger flowering before the fall equinox. These methods create a complete growth cycle before the cold season.
Growing Cannabis in a greenhouse is still technically viable in Arctic regions but requires significant heat management. Twin-wall polycarbonate panels provide excellent insulation while allowing light transmission, and insulated metal panels on the sides enhance heat retention. Heat retention curtains minimize heat loss during cold spells, while smart controllers automate heating and humidity levels.
Humidity control is critical in cold-climate greenhouses to prevent mold. Cannabis cultivators in Arctic regions use horizontal or vertical airflow systems to circulate warm air and maintain consistent temperatures. At the same time, dehumidifiers remove excess moisture and condensation to further protect cannabis crops from mold.
However, indoor cultivation is the ideal method in Arctic climates. This allows cultivators to shield plants from extreme weather and removes the challenges of greenhouse growth. Using high-quality LED or high-intensity discharge (HID) lights, along with temperature controls and automated timers, cannabis plants have the necessities for optimal growth—even in the most frigid conditions.
One surprising advantage of growing cannabis in Arctic regions is the extended daylight hours during the peak of summer. In locations such as Whitehorse, the capital of northwest Canada’s Yukon territory, the “midnight sun” provides 18+ hours of daily sunlight during the growing season. The extended sunlight exposure creates enhanced resin and cannabinoid production, and the low humidity and high altitude reduce the risk of pests and mold.
Growing cannabis in high-altitude regions also has its pros and cons. Research showsthat cannabis grown in mountainous areas produces a high level of terpenes, cannabinoids, and flavonoids. Cannabis plants grown at higher elevations can offer more pungent aromas and potent effects.
High-altitude growth does have its challenges, however. Certain environmental factors affect cannabis growth in high-altitude areas, like Colorado, such as temperature fluctuations, high winds, increased UV exposure, and shortened growing seasons. High elevations also often have shorter growing seasons, making techniques like germinating seeds indoors a common practice.
High altitudes have intense sunlight and cooler nights, which promote potent cannabis plants by boosting resin production through increased UV exposure. However, some sun protection is still necessary to prevent plant stress. Shade cloths or protective sprays can help prevent sunburn and reduce plant stress.
These regional conditions can also lead to extended plant maturation periods. Cultivators in these regions pay careful attention to trichome development before harvest. Harvesting at the ideal time helps cannabis growers ensure the buds are at the highest possible level of potency, flavor, and quality.
Vertical farming is a way to cultivate high-yielding, consistent-quality medical cannabis in a controlled environment year-round—even with minimal land or space, such as in urban settings. Stacked layers of crops are often incorporated into structures like skyscrapers, warehouses, shipping containers, and greenhouses or utilized in areas otherwise unsuitable for farming. Using vertical growing systems, cannabis cultivators maximize even smaller grow spaces.
This growth method helps lower plant cultivation costs while improving the cultivators’ competitiveness in the medical or recreational marijuana market. While traditional horizontal growing works in many settings, vertical space is often unused. Implementing a vertical grow system utilizes every inch of the space.
While vertical farming offers significant benefits, it still requires careful cannabis cultivation. Before growing cannabis plants, floor levelness, ceiling height, and potential obstructions must be carefully considered. Lighting, irrigation, and airflow are other essential considerations for the growing space.
A company called BioHarvest has developed a way to grow the key active components of cannabis—trichomes. Using a bioreactor, this innovative approach helps researchers focus on cultivating only the essential parts of the cannabis plant. This eliminates the need to grow the entire plant while only producing the beneficial part.
The microgravity conditions in space could even produce cannabis crops with more potent medical properties than what can typically be grown on Earth. Space-grown cannabis might even contain valuable cannabinoids in much higher quantities. This could lead to the potential of creating full-spectrum cannabis plants that offer even more effective treatment options for conditions like palliative diseases.
Unfortunately, BioHarvest’s cannabis isn’t yet approved for International Space Station (ISS) use, and astronauts are prohibited from being high or drunk in space for safety reasons. Still, with space tourism having potential for the future, tourists will likely want to enjoy marijuana or alcohol while in space.
Best Weed DispensaryCannabis cultivation in extreme environments, whether in the desert, Arctic, or high-altitude regions, requires meticulous growth strategies. These climates present challenges like temperature fluctuations, UV control, and water management. But with the right approach, cannabis plants can thrive even in the harshest conditions.
As the demand for cannabis continues to grow, these cutting-edge cultivation techniques will likely become an even more crucial part of ensuring there is an adequate supply of high-quality medical or recreational cannabis in even the most challenging cultivation regions.
Since the early 20th century, misinformation about cannabis has been deliberately spread, often tied to racial bias and political agendas. One of these is the so-called “Mexican hypothesis”, a widely mistaken belief that Mexican immigrants first introduced cannabis to the US. The reality is that the majority of cannabis in 1910 was already being imported by demand of U.S. pharmaceutical companies from India.
The Mexican Revolution of 1910 indeed created a surge of Mexican immigrants to the US, particularly in the Southwest. However, these newcomers rarely used cannabis for the most part, being more popular among soldiers and prisoners. By then, some of the general population in the US and around the world had long traditionally used cannabis for both recreation and medicinal purposes, as mentioned in media since the 1840s.
Growing anti-immigrant sentiment from economic decline sparked racially charged rumors, labeling cannabis as a “dangerous foreign drug” and linking it to violent crime, which fueled fear among Americans. This hysteria led to one of the first U.S. cannabis bans on June 14, 1915, in El Paso, Texas.
By the 1930s, films like Reefer Madness, backed by Federal Bureau of Narcotics commissioner Harry Anslinger, exaggerated cannabis’ effects, falsely associating it with insanity and crime. However, the real reasons stemmed from the economic downturn of the 1930s; and how Mexican immigrants were competing for jobs and accepting lower wages – leading to the familiar demonization of marginal groups still seen today. This fearmongering helped pass the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, effectively criminalizing cannabis nationwide.
From the 1950s onward, the propaganda continued evolving, pushing the now-debunked “gateway drug” theory. TV and cartoon PSAs, such as The Flintstones and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, warned kids about weed, ignoring its medical benefits and reinforcing negative stigma.
Despite shifting laws, anti-cannabis propaganda is still present today, but history shows that much of it is still rooted in fear, not fact. The history of anti-cannabis propaganda in the U.S. has continued to shape public perception, laws, and racial stereotypes.
While the anti-cannabis messaging has evolved, it still follows the same fear-based tactics. Today, the focus has shifted to framing cannabis as a public safety threat, warning against “Big Cannabis,” and stating exaggerated mental health and comorbid substance abuse concerns.
While this would help expand medical marijuana access, support research, and create better business regulations, it wouldn’t legalize recreational use federally. The rescheduling process includes a public comment period and legal review, but legal and political challenges could still impact the outcome.
“Cannabis is more potent and dangerous than ever:” A myth being spread about how high THC levels in cannabis are equating to increased harm. However, high-THC medicinal cannabis products can sometimes be more effective for conditions like nausea and vomiting versus lower THC levels. It can also be more efficient and cost-effective for patients with severe needs. In addition, public health improvements would increase by further legalizing cannabis, such as safer access to cannabis products.
“Increased cannabis use leads to mental health crises:” Propaganda says that cannabis leads to experiencing mental health issues. However, things like genetics, family history, trauma or stress, pre-existing conditions, environmental and financial factors, sociodemographic, pharmaceuticals, and self-medicating play a big role in mental health issues. Cannabis use does not seem to raise the risk of developing depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder, according to cumulative studies. Instead, it is commonly used as a therapeutic agent for these.
“Legalization leads to more youth usage:” This myth is spread to scare parents away from the support of cannabis legalization. Instead,some studiesshow discrepancies in Monitoring the Future (MTF) studies results. The results didn’t always match up—MTF findings differed from larger surveys with more states represented. MTF samples a small number of schools, making it less reliable for state-level trends. For example, in Washington, data from the Healthy Youth Survey showed that after legalization, past 30-day cannabis use dropped by 22% among 8th graders, 12.7% among 10th graders, and stayed the same for 12th graders. This not only showed no significant increase, but even significant decreases in youth cannabis use following legalization.
Opinion articles, such as one recently released from Yahoo News titled “Don’t believe the lies about cannabis” are becoming increasingly common lately. This poses an issue with false information about cannabis flooding the internet instead of resources for fact-based cannabis education.
This article and those similar to it also rely on fear-based rhetoric and selective data to push their anti-cannabis agenda, misrepresenting science and the effects of cannabis legalization. The article also exaggerates the dangers of cannabis by stating cannabis increases psychosis and emergency room visits, without acknowledging that these trends are often due to improved reporting and higher overall use—not because cannabis has suddenly become more harmful.
Instead, research from the National Academies of Sciences has found no definitive cause-and-effect link between cannabis use and schizophrenia, which undermines another of the article’s core claims. Many with the condition coincidentally use cannabis, or better yet CBD, particularly to help alleviate particular symptoms.