I had the honor of listening to Drake Sadler, founder of Traditional Medicinals tea company, tell Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch how it used to be illegal to sell mint, lavender and other herbal remedies. The setting was a fundraiser for her campaign over ten years ago in Sebastopol. I was there in my capacity as a commercial cannabis consultant.
It is interesting that people had to fight to legalize lemon balm, and now the fight continues for cannabis legalization. It was insightful to hear the story how all herbs people can utilize themselves were illegal to sell or buy commercially at one point in this country. Can you imagine mint tea being illegal to buy in a store? How can natural plants be illegal for adult consumption or purchase for one’s own adult body?
Cannabis is an old herbal remedy that is still on its pathway to legality and a rekindled utilization in the home garden. We had the power to make what we need locally taken away from us, and slowly we are claiming our freedom again one plant at a time.
What is interesting about this struggle is that it demonstrates how one action, in this case cannabis legalization, can have multiple positive benefits. For example, the cannabis plant also helps to mitigate climate change risks. Of course there is industrial hemp’s contribution, saving forests from clearcuts by utilizing this robust and fast-growing pulp alternative to trees. But there is something so much more. People growing their own medicine, from mint to cannabis, empowers a supply chain that sinks carbon in the ground, providing the needed items right from one’s own yard. All this in exchange for some Vitamin D and exercise. The sun, water, and healthy soil provides.
Growing and making your own cannabis medicinal products is such an incredible way to take action now. We can make tinctures, teas, balms, and other amazing products right in the comfort of our own kitchen. This is empowering and provides activism opportunities to many. Further, we can freely share the abundance of this medicine with those in need and those without the land to make it themselves.
When I think of climate change scenarios, what rises to the top are all the needed things to survive; food, water, medicine and shelter. As supply chains slow from increased energy costs and increasingly scarce resources we will naturally source needed items as locally as possible. How do we easily make these items locally, with little to no environmental impact? Can our support systems for basic necessities be regenerative, putting water back in the aquifer, building topsoil, attracting beneficial pollinators and providing surplus for people? The answer is a resounding yes.
Seek to answer these questions for every resource you consume. Developing local supply chains now is a proactive way to be the change we need to be. Food and medicine can and is already being produced all around us. Grow your own and support commercial cannabis producers that focus on wellness; for people and the land. The climate will thank you.
Craig Litwin was a top signature gatherer for Prop 215, and served as mayor of Sebastopol, where he co-authored one of the nation’s first dispensary ordinances. He is the CEO of 421 Group, a California cannabis consultancy with a HQ in Sonoma County, and a co-creator of Resourcery, a permitted and state licensed cannabis oil extractor, tincture and salve maker, and distributor in Sebastopol.