How California Can Utilize Surplus Marijuana Other Than Smoking Weed

Marijuana growers in California are doing too good a job. The executive director of the California Growers’ Association, Hezekiah Allen, said Wednesday the state would have to scale down the production of marijuana because it’s currently producing eight times the amount that is normally consumed.

This hasn't been a problem until now because the surplus was exported to other states, but a new law set to go into effect in January will ban growers from selling their products outside the state, leaving them with fewer outlets to sell their surplus weed.

Allen said their primary objective would be to prevent cannabis growers from illegally sending marijuana to other states using the black market.

“We are producing too much,” Allen said, adding that marijuana farmers “are going to have to scale back. We are on a painful downsizing curve.”

Estimates of the scale of California’s cannabis overproduction vary. While Allen said the state produces eight times more than state residents consume, Joseph Devlin, chief of Cannabis Policy and Enforcement for the City of Sacramento, cited estimates of five times the amount of consumption; the LATimes reported that an industry consultant put the amount of overproduction at 12 times what is consumed.

The state's immediate goal was "to get folks into the regulated market, as many as possible," said Lori Ajax, chief of the state’s Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation. She conceded, however, that “there are some people who will never come into the regulated market.”

After California became the first state in the United States to legalize it, marijuana production in the state flourished. While marijuana is largely seen as good for smoking or oral consumption for medical or recreational purposes, there are a number of other uses for cannabis.

According to Weed Seed Shop, cannabis seeds are not only good for producing more marijuana plants but can also serve as a food product. Roasted cannabis seeds are excellent sources of protein and amino acids. They also contain minor quantities of vitamins and minerals. They are especially nutritious for people recovering from diseases such as arthritis. The nutty flavor of the seeds can also be utilized by grinding them into a powder and infusing it in smoothies, along with an array of other healthy ingredients; they can also be baked into cakes.

Most people are familiar with the oil extracted from the buds of the marijuana flower, which can be smoked or ingested orally for medicinal purposes. However, there is also the non-edible oil extracted from cannabis seeds that can be used in paints, lacquers, varnishes, and lubricants. This oil can also be used in cosmetic products and for skin treatments.

Cannabis seed oil is also an excellent replacement for non-renewable sources of energy such as coal, and has a far less negative impact on the environment. There’s a popular myth that American industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford, manufactured a car using all possible parts of a marijuana plant, including the oil extracted from cannabis seeds to fuel his vehicle. In truth, it seems the car was made in part from hemp.

Cannabis seeds can be used as bird feed and can also be used to lure in pests like rats or other rodents in order to catch them.

One alternative for cannabis growers can be a switch to the production of hemp, a variant of cannabis with high fiber content and negligible psychotropic properties. The Chinese have been making clothes from hemp since 8000 B.C., and you can order clothes made from hemp online now, according to ScoopWhoop.

Due to its high fiber content, texture and durability, hemp is useful in making ropes. Hemp plants can also be used to make pulp for paper, and jewelry can be made using the twines that grow around the plant.

This form of cannabis can be used to produce plastics, which can be turned into soda cans, CD holders, shower curtain liners, furniture etc. Cannabis plastic is 100 percent biodegradable, easier to recycle and safer than traditional plastics.

California