On Thursday, cannabis growers from across the state trekked to the Mason Library in Great Barrington to meet with the state's regulatory body for legal cannabis to discuss the challenges they face and request possible solutions.
Top of mind was how difficult it is to grow much of anything in the outdoor climate of Massachusetts, never mind growing a crop that is legal here but still entirely prohibited at the federal level, while acknowledging the success of the young industry in the state.
"There's 24 outdoor cultivators in Massachusetts for cannabis, and you guys have about 1.5 million square feet of canopy, of outdoor canopy. That's an average of 62,500 per cultivator," Commissioner Kimberly Roy said, though she later said the most up-to-date number of outdoor cultivators is 25. She added, "Today, we want to really have a constructive dialogue and feedback. But what you yield, literally yield, for the state of Massachusetts — you are the top crop, right, you outpace cranberries now as the most lucrative crop in Massachusetts."
Indoor cannabis cultivation gives growers a more predictable (and potentially more profitable) environment but is an energy-intensive operation — powerful lights help the plants grow and HVAC systems work to maintain temperature and humidity settings around the clock. By 2021, indoor cannabis cultivation was responsible for about 10% of all industrial electricity consumption in Massachusetts, the Northeast Sustainable Cannabis Project estimated.
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