Penny Barthel shares cannabis gardening and culinary recipes

Penny Barthel, an Albany resident known as ‘The Cannabis Gardener,’ has transitioned from growing traditional herbs to cultivating cannabis for culinary use. Her interest in home cultivation began as a way to provide clean, trusted plants for a friend battling cancer.

Barthel now shares recipes using cannabis, such as CBD teas and chocolate sauces. This trend toward home growing is supported by Dan Mar of the Cannabis Studies Lab at Cal Poly Humboldt, who notes that as legal landscapes change and social stigma decreases, more individuals are opting to grow their own chemical-free plants. This shift is partly driven by consumer concerns regarding pesticides, with a Harris poll indicating that 72% of consumers are worried about pesticide presence in commercial cannabis.