Is Weed Vegan?

If you’ve recently committed to veganism, there may have been surprising things you had to give up. For example, certain brands of bread, chocolate, gum, gummies, and other commonplace foods may contain or use animal-derived products in their production. Since veganism is not just about food, you may have had to toss certain pieces of clothing and bags. But what about weed? Should you toss your bongs? Is weed vegan? Here’s what we know. 

Photo: Unsplash 

Can Vegans Smoke Weed?

It depends!

Let’s first discuss what being vegan entails. According to Vegan Society, “one thing all vegans have in common is a plant-based diet avoiding all animal foods such as meat (including fish, shellfish and insects), dairy, eggs and honey – as well as avoiding animal-derived materials, products tested on animals and places that use animals for entertainment.”

By that definition, weed would seem to be obviously vegan. However, not everyone agrees with that. 

Some people don’t consider weed to be vegan because animal fertilizer is used in its cultivation. On the other hand, some vegans do not mind that at all. While this fertilizer gives the plant nutrients, not everyone is comfortable with anything that involves animal agriculture. 

If you don’t want anything to do with weed that uses animal fertilizer, you don’t have to give up weed. There is a way to grow veganic weed and people are already doing it. 

Royal Queen Seeds said, “…veganic growing is the cultivation of plants without synthetic fertilisers or animal products.”

Even if you’re not vegan, you may want to look into veganic weed. Royal Queen Seeds say that veganic weed can be up to 1,000 times lower in its heavy metal content. 

Besides getting veganic weed, you may have to switch out your rolling paper. Royal Queen Seeds say that regular rolling paper uses animal products. The animal product may be used in the glue or dye that makes the papers white.

With that said, can vegans smoke weed? Yes, they can. They can opt for veganic weed and use vegan rolling paper. 

How to Grow Vegan Weed 

If vegan weed is not readily available in your area and you can legally cultivate weed, grow your own!

Royal Queen Seeds says the first step is sourcing vegan seeds. Yes, some suppliers have those on the market. However, they said, “Now, if you can’t source truly “vegan” seeds, high-quality seeds from other sources are suitable.”

After you get vegan seeds (or other high-quality seeds), the next step is to get soil that will nourish your weed plants. Royal Queen Seeds recommend getting soil mix from the store or making a veganic soil. As they put it, your veganic soil should be “rich in decaying leaves and clippings.”

The next steps involve nourishing your plant. One great way to do that is by adding compost to your soil. While you can buy vegan compost, if you’re in the mood to make it yourself, Royal Queen Seeds recommends using:

• Weeds
• Dried leaves
• Wood chips
• Small twigs
• Immature crops like alfalfa, hemp, and fenugreek.

Besides compost, you can opt for vegan mulch, fertilizer, or green manure. 

Can Vegans Eat Edibles? 

Yes, they can!

There are multiple ways this can be achieved. 

First of all, you can go to a dispensary that specializes in vegan treats. Don’t assume that regular edibles are vegan because they usually are not. For example, a regular pot brownie is made with eggs or regular cannabutter which aren’t vegan. In addition to that, gummies are surprisingly not vegan. Gummy candy, like gummy bears, is typically made with gelatin which is derived from animal bones. 

The next step is making the edibles yourself. 

Firecracker edibles are usually made with vegan ingredients so that’s a great one to try out. These aren’t recommended for beginners because of how potent they are.

We also have a great weed brownies recipe that can give you vegan brownies. To make these brownies vegan, you can omit the egg or use an egg substitute like flaxseed or another suitable alternative. You can also replace the cannabutter with cannabis oil. 

Alternatively, you can make the cannabutter by using vegan butter or coconut oil instead of regular butter. 

Besides weed brownies, there are so many other vegan edibles that you can make. Whatever your favorite treat is, there is probably a way for you to make the vegan version. 

Takeaway

Is weed vegan? Not necessarily. Depending on your personal philosophy, only veganic weed may be considered vegan. The good news is that there is veganic weed out there and other vegan products that go hand in hand with it. Therefore, if you’re a stricter vegan you should be able to smoke weed. If you prefer to eat your weed, there are tons of vegan options out there. However, if this is not available in your area, you can make traditional edibles vegan by making a couple of changes. At the end of the day, if you’re vegan and want to use weed, it’s up to you!