Rebuilding Lytton with BC Bud – Cannabis News, Lifestyle

Is it possible to rebuild Lytton with BC Bud? On June 30, 2021, wildfire swept through Lytton, British Columbia, destroying most of the town’s infrastructure and homes. The whole village was evacuated. As the ash cooled, villagers found that 97% of the town was gone. Two people died during the wildfire. The BC government announced $18 million in taxpayer funds for reconstruction, but progress has been slow and bureaucratic.

But what if there was a better alternative? What if rebuilding Lytton with BC Bud was a real possibility?

Rebuilding Lytton with BC Bud

When the COVID pandemic hit, some distilleries switched production to hand sanitizer to address the supply shortage. When Lytton was devastated by fire, many BC bud growers could have switched from high-THC medicine to low-THC hemp. Of course, why would they do that? The mom and pop farms that make up the BC Bud culture have been described as violent gangs with no official oversight.

Let’s say in an alternate reality, instead of allowing the corporations to make money while criminalizing the mom-and-pop farms responsible for BC Bud, Trudeau liberals have legalized cannabis. In this alternate reality, the BC cannabis farming community would have had the resources and infrastructure to speed up their production processes and transition to hempcrete manufacturing.

Hempcrete is a bio-composite of the inner woody core of the hemp cannabis plant. It is a lightweight alternative to insulating material. Better than carbon neutral, it is carbon positive and fireproof. Mold formation is excluded, earthquake-proof and recyclable.

A hemp house is not a dream of the future. Hempcrete might not be an industry standard, but that’s why rebuilding Lytton with BC Bud is important. Show the world (and the rest of the country) how to build a sustainable economy without carbon taxes and government encroachment.

Government bureaucracy too slow

The fire that destroyed Lytton happened a year ago. But as of this writing, many residents are still wondering when they can retire. Lytton homeowner Denise O’Connor was insured for something like this, but she says there was no communication from insurance adjusters or government bureaucrats.

She tweeted a photo of her property, which hadn’t changed in ten months. When asked about the reconstruction, she replies: “What reconstruction? There is no reconstruction.”

In response to this question, Emergency Management BC stated, “The Province is not aware of any reason why insurance providers cannot begin debris removal on insured properties immediately, and insured property owners should contact their providers regarding this matter.”

“We heard from Premier Horgan right after the fire that they would be here to help and that they were rebuilding this wonderful community,” said Denise O’Connor. “The Coquihalla was rebuilt and opened within weeks, the railroad, the First Nation lands cleared. What’s happening?”

What is going on here is typical government bureaucracy. Better to spend money than deliver results. And since taxpayers can never withdraw their funds in protest (like corporations can), the cycle of waste and inefficiency continues.

How to rebuild Lytton with BC Bud

There is more to cannabis than smoking it and receiving medicinal benefits. There’s more to hemp than CBD supplements. Cannabis/hemp is considered one of the most versatile plants there. Cannabis plant material can be used to make plastics, fabrics, concrete, and fuel.

It just takes some political will to challenge the unconstitutional cannabis law.

Bernie Fandrich, chairman of the local chamber of commerce, knows the potential. “Some of us are working very hard to formulate a plan for the future,” he says.

Fandrich thinks of using the heat and converting it into energy. Located at the meeting point of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers, Lytton regularly breaks records as Canada’s hottest place.

But others are arguably more grounded in their approach. Gary Abbott is the local fire chief and was the first on the scene to tackle the blaze long before the province provided assistance. He is also a licensed micro cannabis grower.

David Hurford, honorary secretary of the BC Craft Farmers Co-Op, believes in rebuilding Lytton with BC Bud. “What brings people back to Lytton?” He asks, “Jobs!”

“I think the silver lining of only having 70 farmers allowed in BC is that we can build that whole culture in from the start. A culture of occupational safety and environmental protection. A culture of quality produce, testing, organic farming and regenerative agriculture that gives back to the earth.”

Rebuilding Lytton with BC Bud

Lytton was a First Nations settlement before the discovery of gold brought European immigrants to the valley. When the gold rush ended and a motorway made passing through Lytton obsolete, tourism became the golden goose.

But an economy, even a small one like Lytton’s, should never rely on a single staple. And while tourism is likely to remain a large part of their economy, there’s no reason to neglect the crucial role BC Bud can play.

Rebuilding Lytton with BC Bud means showing the world what cannabis can do. It’s not just a fun pastime or life-saving medicine. It is a staple that can be the foundation of our economy. We don’t have to destroy the planet by producing plastic, cloth, concrete and fuel when cannabis can produce all of these goods while remaining carbon positive.

Fandrich said, “I think what’s going to happen — we’re going to become a model community for North America.”

He was, of course, talking about converting heat into energy. But the same goes for converting hemp into fuel.