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...

18 Apr

Posted at 17:33h in Living the Dream

Recently, it became apparent we have added competition for the cannabinoids we grow. I should have seen it coming, but it smacked me in the face when I actually saw massive amounts of hemp biomass stored alongside my paltry 10-pound bag of high-THC sugar leaf in a licensed cannabis processing facility. Then I visited a well-stocked glass/CBD shop, finding sophisticated products well beyond CBD topicals. Decades of advocacy to get hemp fields back into production resulted in the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 that made hemp cultivation a legal activity across the United States. Fiber! Fuel! Environmentally friendly paper, plastics and...

04 Apr

Posted at 17:29h in Living the Dream

A basic need in life, I believe, is to be acknowledged, affirmed and appreciated. While our company tends to shun high-profile contests sponsored by national marijuana publications where the winners seem to mimic the list of advertisers, we instead chose to compete in local, blind contests. Last November, we decided to enter the Craft Cup organized by the Washington Sungrowers Industry Association (WSIA). We anguished over which strains to enter. It was like having to choose which of your children get to go out and play, so we ended up submitting samples from each of our eight strains. The five factors of most flower contests revolve...

07 Mar

Posted at 17:27h in Living the Dream

Washington’s legislative session will be virtual this year due to the coronavirus. Technology, when it works, will make it super easy for citizens to “attend” legislative sessions this year and likely into the future. It’s not a bad thing to get more voters engaged in the law-making process. Washington state legislative committee chairs reached out to advocacy groups back in September 2020 to explain that each legislator is encouraged to limit their bills this year and focus mainly on COVID relief and the economy. There are only four cannabis-centric bills I am aware of that will be presented this session: home-grow, 37%...

03 Feb

Posted at 18:42h in Living the Dream

In the mid-1970s, a clairvoyant told me that my soul’s past includes being a French revolutionary leader. I don’t know about that, but I seem to gravitate toward advocacy. I will advocate for what I believe until either victory, exhaustion or revision and will do my best to encourage others to join me. It keeps me engaged in current conversations and helps me stay informed. But it can also be so all-consuming that I’m learning to only take on the battles I really care about. My column in the January 2020 issue of Marijuana Venture addressed the economic impact to small businesses by...