The legalization of cannabis has been hotly debated across the United States and the world. Almost everyone has a strong opinion on the subject. But how often are the voices of communities who produce the crop and are directly affected by such legislation brought into the conversation?
Dr. Phoebe Parker-Shames, a postdoctoral scholar in the Environmental Science, Policy and Management department of UC Berkeley, is filling that gap with her research.
“I’m looking at how legalization of cannabis has affected the way this crop is cultivated and influenced dynamics in the community, particularly in rural parts of western US,” she said.
“I was inspired to do this work because I grew up in southern Oregon, which is an area that has changed a lot with the legalization of cannabis. I really wanted to do something that could answer an ecological question relevant and useful for my own community,” she added.
According to Dr. Parker-Shames, the past five years since cannabis was legalized in Oregon have seen rapid land use change. Small-scale farmers that used to depend on the cultivation of cannabis for their livelihoods are being outcompeted by large corporations, she said. This consolidation of the industry naturally has had an impact on the environment too.
After concluding this research, Dr. Parker-Shames wants to work on urban wildlife.
“I also want to do more community-based research. It takes a lot of time and energy and there’s a lot of places you can go wrong. But I feel like I’m finally learning where some of those pitfalls are and how to be a better collaborative researcher. I’m proud of that,” she said.
Being a scientist is not easy, but Dr. Parker-Shames is finding ways to navigate the challenges her career poses. “It’s hard because we are tied to our work so intricately and it’s really tough to separate who you are from the work that you do. That means that we take every little thing that goes wrong so personally. One needs to learn how to navigate that, have a healthy work-life balance and accept that things aren’t always going to be perfect,” she said. Pearls of wisdom for all those engaged in the difficult work of research!