A widespread conviction/misconception that many of these potential investors seem to have is the notion that the industry is a simple one: plant the seeds, harvest the product, watch your bank account swell with the profits. In reality, cannabis cultivation--and the subsequent creation of high quality, contaminant-free, environmentally friendly products--is a highly sophisticated process that cannot be duplicated in a few weeks, months, or even in a year, much less replicated overnight.

From a management point of view, we’re innovating by incorporating our values into everyday practice. Inclusiveness, respect, and collaboration are action words, not concepts. From a product point of view, we are staying laser-focused on the research into the medical benefits of the dozens of different cannabinoids produced by the cannabis plant strains. Different folks require different delivery systems. Whether it be for simple enjoyment, or for the treatment of illness, we are constantly upgrading the equipment and technologies used to create product lines that we think are unequaled in the industry.

Marijuana has been grown in Humboldt County, California, since the 1960s. That’s more than half a century of cannabis cultivation that was, until recently, an unregulated outlaw industry. Legalization of marijuana has arguably made it the most regulated of the legal recreational substances (there is no track and trace on grapes in the wine industry, or on hops for breweries). Coaxing quality farmers into legal cultivation, while at the same time convincing law enforcement, county officials, and environmental regulatory agencies of the benefits that the cannabis industry brings to a community, is undoubtedly the biggest challenge that we have faced.

We like being at the crossroads of people and plant genetics. No matter what continent, people are experimenting with cannabis in ways that are designed to improve the quality of human life. The common cause of using cannabis to improve health, and/or to enhance the quality of our very hectic modern lives, has brought people of different cultural backgrounds, varied ethnic origins, diverse political views, and wonderfully varied sexual and gender choices into a common cause. We're constantly rejuvenated by contact with the motley and wonderful crew that composes the human race.

We love being surrounded by interesting and innovative human beings, and good friends/partners have frequently providedus with the recuperation and the inspiration to keep on keeping on. The energy and dedication of our employees at Emerald Family Farms keep our batteries continually charged. They fit in the “none better” category, and I’m deeply thankful to them.