Pennsylvania was the coal capital of the country for decades. The coal industry created a booming economy with cities like Scranton becoming the place to be for people from all walks of life. As other forms of energy came to the forefront and the coal industry died so did the area. As coal mining jobs became nonexistent, many people moved to find new work, which ended up creating almost ghostlike towns. It’s a sad yet undeniable fact that almost anywhere you go in ‘coal country’ you will find abandoned houses, factories, coal breakers, coal mines and other reminders of a time that once was.
Fast forward to 2016. A bill has just been passed to allow the sale of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, along with a bill to legalize industrial hemp. Marijuana has a long list of health benefits and states like Colorado also show the benefits the industry has on the economy. Could the medical marijuana industry bring ‘coal country’ back to its former glory, renaming it ‘cannabis country’?
As stated previously, abandoned buildings are an all too common site in coal region Pennsylvania. It’s been said that manufacturers of medical marijuana products have been looking at the Lehigh Valley to make it their home, which could help create new jobs, thus bringing in more people to live in the area. There has also been talk about the industrial hemp business being brought back into Pennsylvania, creating an even bigger boom in the economy.
Pennsylvania led the nation in the industrial hemp industry until the early 1900s, where it stopped in 1937 after the Marijuana Tax Act was passed. The hemp industry is nothing new to Pennsylvania, but bringing it back could have a large impact on multiple industries in the state. In addition to raising up the agriculture industry, new farming equipment may be needed for these unique plants. In addition, growing the plant on American soil could lower the prices of hemp products—like ‘drug rugs’, hemp oil, hemp seeds and more.
After so many years of being a stagnant, very traditional and conservative area, is it possible to become revitalized and brought into a new era? Medical marijuana and industrial hemp are not only good for the earth and for health, their industry can greatly benefit the local economy. Maybe ‘coal country’ will become ‘cannabis country’, maybe not…but the possibilities which the industry holds are endless.
