Kelly Coulter

At the entrance to the farm in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island there is a sign which reads SLOW DOWN. It shows a picture of horses and children playing but it is the words that really grab you. The drive is long, surrounded by pastures and majestic trees with the sparkle of a lake in the distance. By the time you reach the sign telling you to “slow down” your mind has already done it. Your shoulders have relaxed and you are smiling as you breathe in the fresh country air. The horses greet you with flicks of their tails and life seems suddenly simple. As you lean against the fence, taking in the beauty of your surroundings and with it your first blissful toke you wonder if this is what it really all about.

Cannabis wants you to slow down. It/she wants to make you think and question and ultimately answer those questions. But she also wants you to relax and laugh and share her with others in the enjoyments of life; food, music, nature, love, friendship and healing.

Plants Have So Much to Teach Us

As we enter into the new paradigm of legal cannabis in Canada and around the world (hallelujah) now is the time to re-examine what this “perfect plant” is really trying to teach us. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan writes about the genius of plant life and how humans have much to learn from them, including cannabis. I believe cannabis will eventually lead us back to a more natural way of living in harmony with the seasons, not only as farmers but also as consumers.

THE FARMERS

In 1975 Masanobu Fukuoka wrote The One-Straw Revolution, a treatise on how food could and should be grown.  It was a manifesto about farming, eating and how the limits of human knowledge will require a radical change to preserve our planet and the systems we rely on for our food. Fukuoka was a rice farmer who chose a less labor-intensive farming style because he wanted his life to be a happy, healthy and fulfilling one.

He believed and proved that farmers could grow to sustain themselves without breaking their backs, their minds, and their spirits. Cannabis farmers of the future who share these values are gathering now in the United States and Canada to embrace these same principles of permaculture which serves not only the natural environment but produces what some might argue the “highest-end” cannabis; seasonal, regenerative, organic, and fair.

Brittny Anderson, the co-founder of The Cannabis Conservancy, is currently working with others to help develop more sustainable criteria for cannabis growers. Her commitment to the regenerative movement was solidified during her time as an intern at Bija Vidyappeeth, Vandana Shiva’s farm in India.

“Regenerative agriculture is the path we must take if we want to renew our communities and reverse climate change. I believe this is a critical moment in time and we must build the world we envision. Regenerative cannabis cultivation is going to be a big part creating a sustainable future and inspiring other agricultural sectors to do the same. Together we will change the world.  The Cannabis Conservancy’s certification allows farmers to differentiate themselves in the marketplace so consumers can choose products aligned with their values.”

Cannabis was not always grown indoors, which is surprisingly a radical notion to many. It was grown covertly, because it was illegal, on forest floors, in swamps and amongst rows of other crops. It was hidden and untended for the most part, which is probably/definitely why outdoor cannabis has gotten a bit of a bad rap. The good farmers of Northern California who have been growing legal medical cannabis for the rest of the state for decades were able to hone their techniques, strains, and philosophies around cannabis cultivation and have proven that sun-grown is not only friendlier to the planet and less costly to grow but also deliciously effective.

Casey O’Neil of HappyDay Farm is one of those “good farmers” who believes his farm is meant for a higher purpose. "As a diversified cannabis and vegetable farmer, it is important to me to see thriving small farms that build soil and community. I look forward to learning and sharing with other farmers as we move towards a more regenerative form of agriculture."

Amanda Reiman is the Communications Director for Flow Kana, a distribution company in California known for its’ support of small farms. “We work with sun-grown farmers in Mendocino and Humboldt counties who go beyond organic by using regenerative farming practices, literally improving the quality of the soil with every harvest. Flow Kana was the first company to connect the public with this small community of farmers, who, because of prohibition, have existed in the shadows until now. Flow Kana is proud to give them a platform to tell their stories, and an opportunity to brand themselves, their region and their cannabis for a whole new group of consumers. With offices in southern CA, the Bay Area and Mendocino County, Flow Kana brings the farm to the dispensary along with opportunities to meet the farmers who produce the world's best cannabis. The Flow Cannabis Institute also provides an opportunity for the public to visit, tour the facility and interact with farmers on their farms. The institute is a source of education, not only about cannabis but about prohibition and its associated harms. Additionally, Flow Kana advocates on the local, state and national level, for policies that support small, traditional, sun-grown farmers and lessen barriers for their success in the new marketplace.”

The work of these visionaries and others will be critical for small, sustainable cannabis farmers throughout North America and beyond. The good news is the world is getting woke to the harms of the industrialization of agriculture, and the “Slow Food Movement” has been gaining momentous speed. This is partly due to the incredible work of Carlo Petrini who wrote “The Slow Food Movement” but also the support of the worlds’ greatest chefs including Jamie Oliver and Dan Barber, who are major proponents of more sustainable food consumption. Two short years ago, Netflix might have had one documentary devoted to the food culture. Today there are more than twenty -  and the list grows longer every day. The idea that people are more in tune with where their food comes from and how it is grown will naturally converge with the consumer values of the future cannabis consumer. They will have a choice, transparency, and above all else more education. These same types of farming documentaries which reveal some of the harms of monocultures, pesticide use as well as the importance of supporting local food producers could be soon focusing on cannabis farms in the not too distant future.   

YOUR ROLE IN THE SLOW CANNABIS MOVEMENT

However it is not just lofty ideals about the industrialization of agriculture and the importance of preserving our soils that will help restore the old ways of growing cannabis….it will be You. Going to farmers markets is fun. Meeting and getting to know the farmers who produce your food is rewarding in many ways. You are supporting other humans and not big, multi-national corporations. You are eating fresh and healthier food. You are helping communities. You are being kind to the environment by purchasing food with less/zero packaging. You are learning about farming and educating yourself about where your food comes from. You are supporting a slower pace in life that is reflective of life. You are sticking it to the machine.

Cannabis is at the very root of this ethos because it has endured a legacy of demonization. In its’ future incarnation as a legal plant (feels odd even writing this…) the values of radical self-sufficiency; true futurism, could and should be embraced and supported. Ideally, we should all be consuming our cannabis as we should be consuming our food, which is to grow our own. The next best thing is to vote with your wallet. If the trends we are seeing in other sectors including food, wine, beer, and alcohol are any indication, the future looks very promising for small cannabis farms committed to quality, craftsmanship, and community.

There are regions throughout Europe with very small, sought-after and profitable vineyards. The farms are typically hundreds of years old and have been passed down through generations. These farms have not only survived but have thrived, and the lessons are infinitely valuable. First of all –  they remained small, less than 5 acres in most cases, which lends itself to a more manageable infrastructure. Secondly, they had a loyal following, winemakers who knew that the grapes grown were of the finest quality, intimately tended to and expertly harvested. Those same winemakers, in turn, have loyal followings, and so every vintage is spoken for pre-harvest. Finally, the craftsmanship of the farmer. This applies to not only stewardship of the land but also to the methodology of the harvest and translates to the principles of slow cannabis farming. Is the soil healthy? Is the cannabis hang dried and properly cured? Will it be hand-trimmed? Are the workers paid a fair living wage? Does the farm aim to benefit the environment and the community?  

Cannabis can teach us so many things about how we interact with our natural world, and I truly believe that is where we are heading.  Friedrich Nietzsche alludes to a similar idea in The Birth of Tragedy and Michael Pollan expands on it in “The Botany of Desire”.

In The Birth of Tragedy, Friedrich Nietzsche described intoxication as “nature over power and mind, nature having her way with us.” The Greeks understood that this was not something to be undertaken lightly or too often. Intoxication for them was a carefully circumscribed ritual, never a way to live, because they understood that Dionysus can make angels of us or animals, it all depends. Even so, letting nature have her way with us now and again still seems like a useful thing to do, if only as a check on our hubris, if only to bring our abstracted upward gaze back down to earth for a time. What a re-enchantment of the world that would be, to look around us and see that the plant and the trees of knowledge grow in the garden still.”

Good Farmers know this. Slow cannabis, like slow food, is about working with the natural rhythms of life. In the spring we plant, in the summer we tend, in the fall we harvest and share and in the winter we rest. We live sustainably and re-generatively so that generations who come after us will also be able to do the same. We are going slow.