When the second-largest employer in the U.S. publicly supports cannabis reform, stakeholders take notice. So do the stock markets.

In a statement to U.S. operations employees on Tuesday, Amazon’s Dave Clark, CEO of its Worldwide Consumer business, said the company will be eliminating its drug testing policy for many workers—notably for any positions not regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“In the past, like many employers, we’ve disqualified people from working at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use,” Clark said. “However, given where state laws are moving across the U.S., we’ve changed course. We will no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation and will instead treat it the same as alcohol use. We will continue to do impairment checks on the job and will test for all drugs and alcohol after any incident.”

Clark went on to say that Amazon supports passage of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, legislation that aims to legalize cannabis at the federal level while also expunging criminal records and investing in communities most impacted by prohibition. The MORE Act was reintroduced in the U.S. House on May 28.

In the wake of that Amazon statement, Canadian cannabis companies Tilray Inc. and Sundial Growers Inc. embarked on a two-day rally on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

When the market opened Tuesday—the day of the Amazon statement—Sundial’s shares (SNDL) were valued $1.06. Since then, the stock surged more than 38% at its highest point of $1.47 Thursday morning.

And Tilray (TLRY), which opened at $17.45 Tuesday, peaked at $21.27 Thursday morning—a 21.9% increase.

According to HypeEquity data, Tilray and Sundial were two of the top talked-about companies Wednesday among a group of 18 stocks, including AMC Entertainment Holdings, Bed Bath & Beyond and GameStop, as reported by Markets Insider. In particular, AMC attracted attention in late January and early February, when non-professional traders started squeezing long-held short positions on several unsuspecting stocks.

RELATED: The Big Short Squeeze

But since their Thursday morning peaks, the momentum behind the cannabis stock rallies slowed. Sundial dipped to $1.32 at Tilray to $19.80 by noon EST—still up 19.7% and 13.5%, respectively, from where they opened Tuesday.

Amazon will no longer drug test employees for marijuana and supports the passage of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2021, the company said in a statement this week.

© credit | Amazon

"We're adjusting our drug testing policy," said Dave Clark, CEO of Amazon's worldwide consumer business. "In the past, like many employers, we've disqualified people from working at Amazon if they tested positive for marijuana use. However, given where state laws are moving across the U.S., we've changed course. We will no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation, and will instead treat it the same as alcohol use. We will continue to do impairment checks on the job and will test for all drugs and alcohol after any incident."

In addition, Amazon expressed public support for the passage of the MORE Act, which would legalize marijuana at the federal level while also expunging criminal records and investing in communities most impacted by marijuana prohibition.

"We hope that other employers will join us, and that policymakers will act swiftly to pass this law," Clark said.

Cannabis industry associations applauded Amazon's decision to eliminate drug testing for marijuana and the company's support for the MORE Act.

"As the United States' second-largest private employer, Amazon committing to no longer test those of its 1.3 million employees not regulated by DOT for marijuana - and publicly supporting the MORE Act - is a huge step forward in eliminating one of the main ways the drug war has robbed so many of their livelihoods," said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "Drug testing has never provided an accurate indication of a person's ability to perform their job, and yet this incredibly invasive practice has locked out millions of people who use drugs - both licit and illicit - from the workplace.

"We urge other employers to take note and follow suit, ending this counterproductive practice once and for all," Frederique added. "And we urge the House to swiftly pass the MORE Act absent of harmful provision that was added to exclude federal workers of drug testing protections, so we can roll up our sleeves and get on with the work of passing marijuana justice in the Senate as well."

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) also commended Amazon for its support of the MORE Act and its decision to eliminate marijuana testing.

"The decision by Amazon to update their drug testing policy to omit marijuana will have a huge impact," said Matthew Schweich, deputy director at MPP. "Disqualifying potential employees for cannabis use is both outdated and bad for business. Adults should not be punished for responsibly using cannabis outside of the workplace.

"Amazon's support for the MORE Act is yet another sign that the American people - and the American business community - back federal cannabis reform that begins to rectify the harms of cannabis prohibition by prioritizing social justice and social equity," Schweich added.

MANITOWOC, Wisconsin, June 2, 2021 - PRESS RELEASE – Dramm now offers 50 and 100 gallon FertiCarts with agitation for larger fertigation needs. For years, Dramm has offered smaller FertiCart Injector Carts in 20 gallon and multi-tank versions. Great for outdoor fields or areas where separate injection is required. The new FertiCarts are available with battery-operated recirculation agitation to keep chemicals and fertilizers in solution. The larger FertiCarts are designed for use with the 20 and 40 gpm Dosatron injectors and come complete with all plumbing, including a 200 mesh filter and check valve to prevent damage from water hammer.

Dramm was founded in 1941 with the creation of the 400AL Water Breaker. This tool was developed to modify and improve the water that growers used in growing their plants. Today, more than 75 years later, Dramm still focuses on improving the water growers use daily, whether it is with one of Dramm's wide variety of watering tools, automatic irrigation systems, chemical application systems, humidity management systems or water treatment and management systems.

If you scoop your fingers through layers of fresh, moist soil and look closely, you may notice the soil moves, crawls and even seems to breathe with life. There are more living organisms in a teaspoon of healthy soil than there are living people on Earth. Microbes, fungi, bacteria and insects are a few of the billions of hungry critters consuming and excreting their way through a living web of life within the soil. 

This is why some indoor cannabis growers are embracing organic living soil methods. Organic living soil allows a plant to easily access which essential nutrients it needs when it needs them. The microorganisms exchange nutrients and microlife with the plants, creating a symbiosis in the soil that will continue perpetually. Growers mimic this natural balance indoors using a base soil and adding amendments and inoculants filled with fungi, bacteria, beneficial insects and other microlife. Healthy, balanced soil will make available all of the nutrients necessary for an eager, hungry hemp seed while keeping pests and disease at bay without the use of harsh pesticides or herbicides.

Take advantage of the below tips at your indoor growing facility so you can ensure your living soil will continue to give back to your cannabis plants day after day, week after week, and season after season.  

Tip 1: Get a Base

The first step to maintaining a healthy living soil according to Chris Teeters, director of cultivation at Harbor Farmz in Michigan, is to have a good base. He’s not just talking about base soil, but also a base of knowledge and experience about growing organically. Take some time to understand the systems of microbes that are responsible for keeping the soil alive and nutrient-dense for your plant, called the soil food web.  

“Learn how to create a good base soil. Read about it, find a recipe that will work for you,” Teeters said. Research is important, as living soil can be a scientific process. But learning through experience is just as important as reading up. “Don’t get too wrapped up in, what I call, ‘analysis paralysis,’” he said. “A lot of people will get stuck on what they’re reading and what’s going on in their head that they forget to just learn through application and observation.”

Base Soil

Base soil is the foundation of your living soil. You can buy premixed recipes of living soil online, but Teeters recommends finding a local compost or soil business where you can see and touch the soil. They will also have a good understanding of soil mixes that will work well in your local environment. Most living soil recipes are a combination of peat, aeration (like pumice) and compost. 

Consider using a cover crop or mulch (such as shredded hemp stalk and defoliated plant leaves) which will help retain moisture and capture excess nutrients in the soil.

Tip 2: Start With a Healthy Plant 

A healthy soil that is mixed, fed and watered to perfection will mean very little if the plant you place into the soil is riddled with disease or a devastating stowaway pest. 

Unless you are taking cuts or clones from your healthy plants, it’s best to start from seed, said Jeremy Silva, owner of BuildASoil, a custom organic soil and fertilizer company in Colorado. “There are problems you just can’t see until you get more experienced. Even then, you’re going to have some that slip through the radar, and you have to determine if it’s worth it, and that should be based on experience,” Silva said.

If you find that you have unwanted pests in your soil, predatory mites and other beneficial insects that reside in living soil can be helpful. Teeters recommends using heavily fermented plant extracts like comfrey and pumpkin, or diatomaceous earth, a pesticide made from fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic organisms, to help with pest problems. If pest pressure is high, a root drench using Karanja cake can be used. 

Tip 3: Balance and Feed the Soil With Amendments and Inoculants

Just like in nature, your living soil will need a balance of macro and micronutrients to keep the plant thriving throughout its life cycle. Maintaining this balance in your living soil is largely determined by two things: amendments and inoculants. 

Soil amendments are the compost, manure or mulch that enhance the soil’s physical properties such as pH or texture. Inoculants are materials used to increase the level of microbes in your soil. Inoculants like fungi and bacteria promote root growth and break down the amendments, which in turn, feeds the plants. 

When to Amend

How often you amend your soil will depend on the environment you are growing in. Teeters oversees a large-scale operation at Harbor Farmz that creates the optimal environmental conditions for its plants, so he and his team amends every 10 days. “Every room is under a parameter control system. I’m running these plants at the highest temperatures and highest humidity levels possible … that they can handle during certain periods of their growth cycle to maximize growth,” Teeters said. “The soil does require amending and put in a faster regime than a home grow because of the science behind what we’re doing here.”

For home growers growing with varying temperature and humidity, Teeters recommends amending at the one-month mark after planting and once more before harvest. 

Pro tip: Validate your amendments if possible, especially if you are buying them online. You’ll want to review the Certificate of Analysis (CoA) to make sure you are OK with the level of heavy metals or potential of pesticides, which can affect the quality of your cannabis. 

Tea Time: Applying Amendments and Inoculants With Compost Teas and Seed Sprout Teas

Compost teas and seed sprout teas are both ways to apply amendments and inoculants that contain important fungi and bacteria to reamend the plants throughout their growth.

To create a compost tea, Teeters uses a large water reservoir fitted with a pump. He then adds worm castings, kale, alfalfa meal, feather meal, bone meal, nettles, comfrey and other organic amendments that contain calcium, magnesium, boron, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium—all the macro and micronutrients necessary to grow plants. The water is agitated, oxygen is added and once the tea is brewed, it is mixed into the organic living soil. “We utilize those teas because they are living. We brew them to a point where they’re full of oxygen and microbes and bacteria,” Teeters said. “So we utilize those compost teas to maintain a balance of life and nutrition in the soil.”

Sprout teas are created by soaking seeds, such as hemp or barley grass, in a container of water until they germinate. The seed-and-water mixture is blended into a concentrate which can be added to your water then dispersed to your plants during watering. 

Tip 4: Create a Watering Routine

Watering your plants is 20% of the process of maintaining living soil which can cause 80% of the issues if not done properly. BuildASoil recommends a watering formula of 5%-10% of the soil volume. If you have a small container with large plants, you’ll need to water daily. If you have a larger raised bed with smaller plants, you’ll only need to water about once a week. The temperature and humidity in your environment will also play a large role in watering your plants. “Think of soil moisture on a scale of 1-10. One being bone dry and 10 being muddy wet. We want to operate in the 3-7 range all day long, day in and day out,” recommends BuildASoil’s blog, “You can do this by calibrating automatic watering systems or by hand watering with a little intelligent thought.” 

Tip 5: Set it and Forget it  

Once you’ve created a balanced web of life in your soil, resist the urge to till or disturb it. The whole goal of living soil, according to Teeters, is to get your soil balanced so that you can “set it and forget it.” 

“You want your soil to be settled in. That allows for the soil food web to start to generate itself and keep a balance and take off,” Teeters said. “There’s so many little microbes, bacteria, enzymes and fungi in the soil. By putting your hand in and mixing it up, you actually are destroying and disturbing that sensitive balance, even in the top layers of your soil.”

Apply and Observe

The food web you create in your living soil may do better with certain amendments, something growers have to learn through experience. “It’s OK to just try something, it’s OK to put some extra alfalfa meal in one of your batches or don’t put any alfalfa meal in a batch and use kale instead, and then add an additional amount of castings to your initial soil,” Teeters said. “You’re going to learn through practicality. You’re going to learn the most through application and observation when it comes to the actual gardening.” 

Using organic living soil in your indoor cannabis growing facility is a sustainable, low-waste growing method, as well as a beautiful example of how scientific application and Mother Nature can work together. This balance creates a mutually beneficial web of life that can create smooth, high-quality cannabis that some growers, like Teeters, believe is a difference you can taste.