Today’s episode starts with a Hinge date…
A few years ago, I matched with a guy on Hinge. He was a former Coast Guard narcotics officer turned climate journalist. I didn’t know what to expect, but I definitely wasn’t expecting a 10-mile hike on our first date. Now that I know he runs 100-mile races, it all makes sense. Eventually, we realized we were better off as friends and co-created a very impactful event centered around our mutual love for the cannabis plant and our planet.
That guy is Peter Deneen and he is the guest in this week’s episode of Higher Spirits. Aside from being a friend, he is also an intelligent climate journalist and passionate advocate.
After years as a narcotics officer in the Coast Guard, where he often tracked down illegal trade of this plant but was forbidden to injest it, Peter decided to “come out of the cannabis closet” when he wrote a piece about ancient high-potency cannabis found in glacial tombs in western China, dating back as far as 500 BCE. Yes, humans have been using weed to connect with spirit and the Earth for a very long time. A few years later, in 2022, he came to me with a poetic and slightly terrifying fact: Earth’s atmospheric carbon levels were about to hit 420 parts per million for the first time in human history — and it was going to happen in April, right around 4/20.
So we decided to do something about it.
What is 420ppm?
We created an event called 420ppm to bring attention to sustainability in cannabis and the ways this plant can actually help us lower carbon emissions. It brought together growers, herbalists, climate advocates, and curious stoners under one roof, actually, under Dennis Hopper’s old roof in Venice, to explore what it means to be in right relationship with the plant and the planet. We talked soil. We smoked the best flower. We brought down regenerative farmers from the Emerald Triangle and were featured on NPR, High Times, Business Insider, and a bunch more outlets.
Where 4/20 is traditionally a holiday to get as high as possible, this celebration was conscious and educational. It drew a really special crowd, and remains one of my proudest moments.
That event also introduced me to Sun+Earth, a nonprofit that’s like an organic certification for cannabis, but even more holistic. They focus on how the plant is grown and certify farms that use regenerative practices in soil, under the sun, supporting biodiversity, fair labor, and community health. It was started by the son of Dr. Bronner (yes, the soap guy), and they’ve quietly become one of the most important voices in ethical cannabis cultivation.
What does weed have to do with the climate?
Here’s the truth...
The majority of legal cannabis on the market today is grown indoors, often in warehouses, using massive amounts of energy to simulate sunlight. Growing just one gram of indoor cannabis can emit between 2.5 and 5.2 kilograms of CO₂, more than burning a gallon of gasoline. Multiply that by the size of the legal market, and suddenly, cannabis, a plant that can literally clean the soil, has a massive carbon footprint.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Cannabis is regenerative by nature. When grown in healthy soil under real sunlight, it not only avoids emissions but actively sequesters carbon and helps heal the land. Beyond that, cannabis has the potential to shift our mindset, reconnecting us with the Earth and with each other. There’s even a 2019 study that found cannabis consumers are more likely to engage in pro-environmental behavior. It’s like the plant is reminding us what we’re connected to.
Where are we now?
When Peter and I organized 420ppm back in 2022, the carbon milestone felt like a wake-up call. Now, just two years later, we’ve already passed it. As of this month, we are at 430ppm.
That’s not just a symbolic number, it’s a clear signal that we are accelerating in the wrong direction. Scientists agree that 350ppm is the upper safe limit for a livable planet. We are well past that.
Higher carbon levels mean more extreme weather, rising seas, ecosystem collapse, and unpredictable growing conditions for the very plants we depend on, including cannabis. What was once a poetic alignment between 420ppm and 4/20 is now a flashing red light.
So what can you do?
A few simple ways to shop more sustainably:
Look for Sun+Earth Certified flower, especially if you're in California or Oregon.
Ask your budtender where the cannabis was grown. If they can’t tell you, that’s a red flag.
Choose sungrown or greenhouse over indoor whenever possible. Or ask if any use sustainable indoor growing practices like solar or gray water.
Support small, independent farmers. The ones working with the Earth, not against it.
Buy less, but better. Quality, intention, and source matter.
In this week’s episode, Peter and I talk about all of this, but we also go deeper. He shares a beautiful reflection on what it means to feminize consciousness as a man. For him, it’s about softening, becoming more sensitive to the world around us, and showing up in service of life rather than dominance over it.
Share this post