Perspectives of Cannabis Farmers on Intersection of Water Access and Cannabis Frontier Constraints in Southern Oregon

Cannabis farming and use are being legalized at unprecedented levels by many states in the United States. Oregon was one of the pioneer states to legalize cannabis in 2016. Although it is legalized at the state level (in Oregon), cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. Due to the quasi-legalization of cannabis, an agricultural frontier for marijuana is unfolding. Cannabis farming in Oregon has grown as there is a market and ideal weather climate for the cannabis industry to flourish. This study seeks to understand the challenges cannabis farmers face in accessing water and the socio-economic and political constraints that they navigate. To explore these challenges, cannabis farmers in southern Oregon (Jackson and Josephine Counties) were interviewed to understand the obstacles they face in their farming endeavors. Southern Oregon is regarded as the cannabis farming capital in the state. This research is novel as the limited studies on cannabis in the Oregon cannabis frontier have focused on quantitative analysis of cannabis farms and their impact on the environment. In this study, cannabis farmers share how they navigate federal policy, leverage local government resources, traverse restrictions to financial institutions and stigma to overcome the constraints of an emerging cannabis frontier. The findings of this research will help inform interested stakeholders about how they can collaborate with cannabis farmers to ease water access, create a platform to access funding and resources and have seamless access to financial institutions. One policy goal is for cannabis farmers to be included by the system that has so far been exclusionary and to promote sustainable agriculture by the farmers.