30 Mar

Posted at 18:36h in Living the Dream

If you shout into the woods and there is no one to hear you, did you make a sound? The cut-off date for bills to either move or die came and went this legislative season. The Cannabis Commission died in Appropriations Committee, again. Even though the commission’s research and education would be self-funded by cannabis cultivators, it needs a collection budget for the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. The state collects millions and millions of dollars in taxes from our efforts yet hesitates to throw a tiny portion of it toward this accounting work. The Craft Cannabis Endorsement bill stalled despite...

16 Feb

Posted at 18:33h in Living the Dream

Each year, as a gift for our retail partners, we design a custom calendar that marks historical dates of cannabis events. We sprinkle it with pictures of our beautiful strains and staff. It has become a collector’s item for many of our fans. We have memorialized dates including February 4, 1911, when Massachusetts became the first state to restrict cannabis by prohibiting the sale of “Indian hemp” without a prescription. On February 19, 1925, the League of Nations signed a multilateral treaty restricting cannabis to scientific and medical use while also restricting its import and export. This was the first unilateral treaty...

19 Jan

Posted at 18:25h in Living the Dream

This is coincidentally my 61st written-for-publication piece and my 61st year on this planet. Numerical coincidences are fun to acknowledge but I stop there on creating conspiracy theories around them. But it’s a good time to update on some of the past topics shared here since 2015 about this legal cannabis trip we ride. “Green Gouging” was my fourth Living the Dream column in November 2015. Gouging continues to this day although our banking fees have decreased from $500 to $350 per month. Still seems excessive and extortionary to me. “Race to the Bottom” was published in January 2016. Price pressures continue, especially for concentrates...

21 Dec

Posted at 18:21h in Living the Dream

I often must remind myself why I care so much and fight so hard for the future of sustainable small businesses in the cannabis industry. It would be so much easier if I just focused on our family business and used my slow times to focus on personal stuff like health, household and family. Instead, I pack my days with reviewing legislation, studying regulations, writing opinions and attending webinars with lawmakers, regulators, local officials and advocacy comrades. The foundational reason I care is the plant itself. The cannabis plant is magical in the way it helps me cope with Lyme disease....

03 Nov

Posted at 18:14h in Living the Dream

I house well over 1,000 contacts in my phone’s address book, and I tend to not answer a call if the name does not pop up as someone I know. But in May I did answer an unknown caller and was glad I did. The solicitor claimed that our property qualified for a zero-down, low-interest loan through a solar installation program created with local credit unions. I doubted the information and explained that we are a cannabis company and, although we would love to have solar paid with a loan like normal people receive, we likely do not qualify for the...

30 Sep

Posted at 17:46h in Living the Dream

The article by Andrew Witkin in the September 2021 issue of Marijuana Venture touched on the evolution of packaging cannabis and inspired me to further his observations. Gone are the days of delivering a two-pound turkey bag full of unbranded bud to the local safe access points for them to dispense from two-gallon jars using chop sticks. Those were easy, economical, environmentally friendly and very profitable days for us. Beginning in 2012, we were one of only five growers that began branding our medical marijuana in the Seattle metro area by providing stickers for the budtender jars. Sometimes they made it...

18 Aug

Posted at 17:30h in Living the Dream

Big news! We participated in an industry event IN PERSON this summer! We travelled to Walla Walla, Washington, to gather with regulators, lawmakers, other stakeholders and quite a few lobbyists. The entire region surrounding Walla Walla is known for impressive vineyards and fine wineries. It is one of those regions where having a wine buzz before noon is quite acceptable. Interestingly, that same region is also known for banning the cannabis industry, so it was a curious location but one we had yet to visit, so off we went. The event’s themes were centered around the next 10 years. Washington State...

04 Aug

Posted at 17:27h in Living the Dream

A small group of my girlfriends from high school still keep in touch. Growing up in Sturgis, South Dakota, with these women created lasting experiences; many revolved around learning about the vices of alcohol, cigarettes and pot. Decades later, we all still drink alcohol and one still smokes cigarettes, while I continue to be the only cannabis consumer in the group. We celebrated our 31-year reunion together in 2011 and got reacquainted with each other as adults. Mary is in banking, Angie is a Realtor, Becky has been a court reporter for decades, Jayna is in city administration, and I was...

12 Jun

Posted at 17:17h in Living the Dream

Years ago, Ed Rosenthal coined the phrase “Smoking cannabis may not be habit forming but growing it sure is!” We agree! The massively different ways one can grow this plant is impressive and yet, there are a thousand ways to screw it up. Yield is king, as those of us growing commercially can attest. Yield is a direct reflection of what went on in the garden that cycle. Considering all the various inputs, it can be challenging to pinpoint which one caused a change in yield. A few months ago, I wrote that we saw our yields go down over this past winter. During...

08 May

Posted at 17:12h in Living the Dream

Science fascinates me even when I do not fully understand it. I have never been trained to do lab work or study microscopic squiggly things, but I appreciate those who do. What we have trained ourselves to do is study our cannabis plants to stay a step ahead of pests and pathogens. Looking at our healthy green crops, a knowledgeable observer would say we have done a great job. Cloning from mother plants was the common practice when we regenerated our cannabis garden back in 2010. We soon stopped that practice, preferring to clone from young, strong, growing vegetative plants. That produced healthy...