High and Dry: How much water does Arizona-grown cannabis use?

Growing weed in Arizona requires an estimate of 1.5 billion gallons per year. On the low end, this number can reach 600 million gallons. As it currently stands, cultivation sites are not legally required to report water usage, along with a lack of water metering regulations. This data comes from Ecopride, an educational platform created by D2 Dispensaries to educate consumers about the ways in which finite water resources are stretched by the cannabis industry.

In Arizona, there are many industry-led players that put a strain on the state’s water supply. In 2022, the Arizona Republic found that 86 golf courses within the state exceeded their water allotment. And in total, golf courses use about 1.3% of Arizona’s water supply. The numbers are similarly daunting in regards to data centers. According to Grist, a media outlet centered around climate change, 385 million gallons of water, extracted from the Colorado River, are required to power data centers in the Phoenix area per year.

Arizona has been in a long-term drought since 1994. With no intrinsic policy in place, the cannabis industry is well on its way to becoming a major contributor to harsh consequences of climate change that are felt by local residents.

HB 2941 was a proposed bill that sought to limit the amount of water used to grow cannabis within the state, but did not pass. However, states like Missouri and Ohio have passed similar legislation that limits the ways in which water is used for cannabis cultivation. In Ohio, any facility that consumes over 2 million gallons of water per day, an amount that is averaged over a 30 day period, must obtain a special permit. And in Missouri, facilities that use 100,000 gallons per day are required to report their usage to the Department of Natural Resources.

The environmental consequences of the cannabis industry seem to consistently fall to the wayside. State regulations oftentimes require the usage of bulky plastic that cannot be recycled, along with the mass production of vape cartridges and batteries. Coupled with the water and energy that is required to mass produce cannabis, the industry could shift towards a more regulatory approach that limits how much water is used for cannabis cultivation.

To live in Arizona is to understand that water is life and that we must be careful about how this water is used.