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Dear Stoner: Why don't more dispensaries and marijuana companies use hemp plastics for packaging?
Maryanne
Dear Maryanne: Plastics made from industrial hemp have proven to be biodegradable and much more eco-friendly than traditional plastics currently used by the vast majority of the cannabis industry, which is known to have quite the environmental footprint. Given industrial hemp's recent federal legalization, using plastics made from the plant to package and ship its funky cousin seems like an idea we can get behind. The pot biz is just as interested in the bottom line as other trades, however, and hemp plastics are still more expensive than current, less-sustainable options.
Companies such as Sana Packaging and OG Containers have already started producing hemp-based packaging for the cannabis industry, but because of the higher cost, I wouldn't expect dispensaries to adopt them en masse. Still, some dispensaries are taking up this cause, and it's your right as a consumer to support them because of it.
Have a question for our Stoner? Send it to marijuana@westword.com.
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