Do ya smell that? No, I’m not talking about the scent wafting from someone’s bong of Death Star (19.9% THC), but rather the cannabis industry becoming mainstream legitimate.
Ted Simpkins, the former CEO of Southern Wine & Spirits is now the CEO of River Distribution. The company models the ABC’s (Alcohol Beverage Control) process where middlemen purchases products from the growers and in turn, sell to the dispensaries throughout California. River Distribution is using Teamster Union truckers for transportation up and down California and also handles the quality control issues for testing of mold, mites and THC content.
Emerald Family Farms and True Humboldt have organized their version of a cannabis cooperative by joining with other organic, sustainable, outdoor growers to sell their branded product. They have a statewide distributor and don’t have to deal with the risk of transportation. Plus once you complete all your paperwork with the various governmental agencies, your farm is listed as a “green dot” (good farmer) versus a “red dot” (bad farmer who needs to be busted) on a law enforcement map. Which grower would you rather be: the grower who greets law enforcement by shaking their hands and offering them bottled water while showing them your environmental consulting papers, or the grower who runs for the hills as your farming practices break every law on the local, state and federal level?
California currently accounts for almost 50% of the legal sales of cannabis nationwide, with the most explosive growth coming from ancillary products, such as vape pens, dabs or BHO (butane hash oil) made from concentrated cannabis extracts and horticulture supplies (grow lights and soils).
The Green Rush has huge profit margins and where there are huge profits, investors will follow. Wall Street, venture capitalists (VCs) and private equity firms are getting into the cannabis game in a big way. Just recently, numerous business people have applied to the City of Santa Rosa, California for large scale (10,000+ square feet) commercial industrial warehouse grows. These open, transparent commercial grows will be inspected by any and all governmental agencies. In a few years, I predict that Sonoma County might be generating more tax dollars from cannabis than wine.
It’s estimated that investors will pour over $1 billion into the cannabis industry in 2016 alone. These aren’t high school drop-outs living in the hills, breaking every law to grow pot, but highly educated people with MBAs, Master’s and Doctorate degrees in science and biology who will be running open transparent businesses.
The Emerald Triangle needs to market “Bud & Breakfast” inns to meet consumer demand. Much like wine country, where folks like to drop their luggage off and have someone drive them around to different wineries, there is a huge untapped market for private drivers to take consumers bud tasting at various farms around Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties. Currently you can hire Matt Kurth of Humboldt Cannabis Tours for a private guided tour of Humboldt’s finest cannabis farms.
For more information on Humboldt Cannabis Tours contact Matt Kurth at (707) 839-4640 or visit HumCannabis.com
Photo by DevilsLettucePH
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