On behalf of both House of Puff and Sands Lane, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for attending the Second Annual Hamptons Cannabis Soirée! House of Puff x Sands Lane
We’re grateful for all our partners and friends, old and new, that were in attendance and look forward to continuing to work together to create a holistic cannabis industry that celebrates culture, provides opportunities and de-stigmatizes the plant.
Expanding on Clio’s enduring reputation for establishing best-in-class programs honoring creative ideas in a variety of specialized verticals, Clio Cannabis celebrates the creators at the forefront of cannabis marketing and communications. Launched in 2019, Clio Cannabis sets the bar for creative work in a rapidly growing industry, builds a greater understanding of a developing category, and elevates creative contributions from top talent and agencies.
Let me tell you about Ben Larson, or better yet, I want Ben Larson to speak for himself. And what an opportunity I had to crawl inside Ben’s head, even for a short while.
Interviewing someone as busy as Ben Larson can be a problematic adventure. But with the help of brilliant overseers, I could capture what I believe is Ben Larson unbounded by your typical corporate double-speak messages. After all, I have a deep interest in what Ben does for Vertosa. Ben has achieved a certain level of nirvana working in weed. Being able to share his passion for the plant with fervent entrepreneurs who have dreams but not necessarily the ability to harness THC-based technology, Ben has brought boundless enthusiasm into this nascent space. What Ben is talented at doing is a thing of dreams. He should know that deep in his heart, as he has achieved amazing things by being a deeply talented entrepreneur in the nano-technology space.
Ben is doing what others can only imagine doing. His deep passion for the plant is evident in his ability to capture the essence of cannabis alchemy. To me, he has truly woven straw into gold.
The things I’ve tasted spun out of the minds at Vertosa are nothing short of brilliant.
Thank you, Ben, for listening to my dreams and helping me achieve drinkklaus.com.
WB: Please tell me about yourself. Where are you from? Where are you living now? Tell me about Vertosa. Where did the name come from?
Ben Larson: I was born and raised in Northern California – setting aside a brief high school career in Utah. After graduating from CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, with a Civil Engineering degree, I spent the first six years of my career as a professional engineer working in the transportation planning and engineering sector. Having moved to the Bay Area and immersing myself in the Silicon Valley community and culture, it wasn’t long before I took the leap of faith into tech startups. Like a true, ill-advised leap where I abandoned my professional license and cashed out my 401K.
While I never did prove myself as a successful tech startup founder – I had my fair share of tries – I did discover my love of the creation phase and the startup community-building aspect. After managing global operations for Founder Institute, mentoring many early-stage founders, and directing programs around the Bay Area and beyond, I decided to take my expertise and passion to the cannabis industry where my business partner and I launched California’s first cannabis startup incubator, fund, and co-working space, Gateway. It was here where I had the opportunity to earn my place in the California cannabis community, was educated on the history of cannabis, and discovered my purpose and responsibility in the movement.
I’ve since settled with my wife and two kids in the East Bay in the City of Walnut Creek, where we’ve called home for the past six years.
I met my co-founder, Dr. Harold Han, while I was investigating infusion technology opportunities in the cannabis space back in 2017. He was just starting to explore the industry and had an infectious curiosity, remarkable humility, and the perfect expertise to fill a void we were observing in the market. Sometime between Harold developing the first prototypes that would eventually become the core offering of Vertosa and the structuring of the business, I discovered I was destined to be back on the operating side of the industry.
Not only did I know that the industry needed reliable technology to create the next generation of infused products, I knew this industry needed a reliable B2B manufacturing partner that infused trust into an otherwise challenging supply chain. We also knew that this industry deserved a company that strived to be the best place to work and walked the talk when it came to building a corporate culture that resembled the ideals that we all sought for this industry. This is what we’ve focused on building over the past four years at Vertosa: superior, proven ingredients, building trust with our partners and the industry at large, and creating the best company culture this industry has seen.
Now, we haven’t always been called Vertosa. We were actually called Nanogen for the first year of business. It was a great starting point as it screamed science and built a great deal of trust, but as we built relationships with more mainstream natural products companies, we knew we would have to rebrand.
The name Vertosa speaks to who we are and the promise we deliver. VERT speaks to both green and truth – in line with our roots in cannabis and dedication to being the best partners to our customers. OSA, Spanish for the female bear, portrays our strength and proud California roots, with an important nod to the power of the female cannabis plant. Vertosa – not too dissimilar from virtuoso – was intended to be the trusted expert that walks the line between plant and science, commerce and medicine, and business and consumers.
WB: What are your six and twelve-month goals? What obstacles do you face? How do you anticipate removing those obstacles?
Ben Larson: For many in the cannabis sector and beyond, the next 6-12 months are all about survival. We know that great companies are born and proven in challenging markets. Those that learn to navigate these waters will have the opportunity to ride the next wave to success. We’ve had great momentum thus far, so I’ve asked our team to give themselves the permission to not only believe that we will survive but that we have the opportunity to thrive in today’s environment.
What does thriving look like? Well, we will continue to create market-leading ingredients that provide the foundation for the fast-acting, infused product category. We believe that all infused products in the future will be fast-acting. It’ll be table stakes. Fast-acting everything.
We have recently launched our private label offering, where we are helping companies map out their future product releases and designing the products that are leveraging our ingredients. Not all brands need this assistance, but not only do we have the greatest knowledge of our products and how to apply them. We’ve amassed a great brain trust internally with professionals that worked at the likes of Mondelez, Constellation Brands, and McCormick.
Finally, we’re striving to continue the expansion of our global platform that allows brands who work with us to access the same reliable ingredients and services in many markets around North America. While we’re headquartered in California, we’re very active in Canada, Nevada, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maine, and several other states. The goal is to be a multistate B2B platform that enables brands to grow their total addressable market with ease.
WB: When did you discover cannabis? How old were you? Why cannabis?
Ben Larson: I discovered cannabis when I entered college, but it definitely wasn’t love at first sight. Like many, I chose alcohol in college, or I suppose it chose me. Not saying it was a great choice; that’s just the culture of much of collegiate America.
I rediscovered cannabis when I was at Founder Institute, and people began inviting me to coach cannabis startups and judge cannabis pitch competitions. I remember attending Weed Club’s 420 Pitch Competition back in 2015, where I met many of the OGs still around today. There was so much passion and enthusiasm in the room, but also a lot of really— let’s just say, raw talent. The community needed help—professionalizing— and the ability to speak investor language. This was my entry point. It was my passion for helping people realize their ideas while building supportive entrepreneurial ecosystems that really allowed me to see an opportunity to create value. That was the genesis for Gateway.
However, why I stayed goes much deeper. I became a student of the plant and the movement: the history, the politics, the false stigma, the drug war, all of it. I saw the immense amount of good this plant could bring society and so many wrongs that needed to be made right. I’ve always had a little bit of vigilantism coursing through my veins, and this was a way for me to dedicate my career to it. For the past seven years, I’ve been hell-bent on building up the community around me, being a voice for those unheard, creating opportunities for others as I create them for myself, and ensuring that we all get to benefit from the rising tide.
WB: Do you cook? If so, what is your favorite thing to prepare? Favorite restaurant? Where?
Ben Larson: I love to cook. My wife certainly does the majority of cooking when it comes to feeding the family, but given the privilege of time and freedom of thought, I absolutely love getting lost in the preparation of a meal. Perfecting my art around preparing challenging cuts of meat, like racks of lamb or lamb loin chops, and then creating the perfect sauce to pair it with is probably where I get the most joy, but I really love cooking just about anything. I mean, have you ever had the joy of turning spaghetti squash into actual spaghetti? It’s so awesome and easy. Most of the time, I just love the challenge of creating something from nothing or whatever we have in the pantry and fridge. Finding creative ways to cook vegetables or preparing an unlikely main is where my creativity really gets to show. When I hear someone say, “we don’t have anything to eat,” it’s like a Bat-Signal for me, and I find myself springing into action while saying, “au contraire.”
WB: What is your passion?
Ben Larson: My passion is for helping people manifest their dreams. From the time I was a kid, I always had a lot of ideas but didn’t always see the path forward. My life experiences have allowed me to discover those paths, and I find great joy in lending those learnings to others and helping them see their dreams come to fruition. And in the event I don’t know the path, which is often, I think I make a great companion in the entrepreneurial journey. There is no greater joy for me. I’ve done this for the past decade by working with early-stage startups and now get to continue it every day through the work we do at Vertosa and the hundreds of brands and partners we work with in the space.
Klaus, a canned cannabis cocktail, is crafted for flavor chasers by mixologist Warren Bobrow. The intense flavor of their THC drink is absolutely cocktail-like and ideal to serve over ice, though you can enjoy it straight from the can as well. The tart, tangy, and ginger flavors would likely appeal to those who usually order margaritas or daiquiris. With 10 milligrams of THC in each can, it was fast-acting and provided me with a potent — but not overwhelming — high. Currently available in one flavor, the Mezzrole, with two more flavors coming soon, each $12 can is priced like a craft cocktail.
You can find Klaus cocktails at two Solful locations in Northern California: Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. So if you’re in Sonoma County, be sure to check them out.
Klaus, a canned cannabis cocktail, is crafted for flavor chasers by mixologist Warren Bobrow. The intense flavor of their THC drink is absolutely cocktail-like and ideal to serve over ice, though you can enjoy it straight from the can as well. The tart, tangy, and ginger flavors would likely appeal to those who usually order margaritas or daiquiris. With 10 milligrams of THC in each can, it was fast-acting and provided me with a potent — but not overwhelming — high. Currently available in one flavor, the Mezzrole, with two more flavors coming soon, each $12 can is priced like a craft cocktail.
You can find Klaus cocktails at two Solful locations in Northern California: Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. So if you’re in Sonoma County, be sure to check them out.
Ifirst met Jeffrey a couple of years ago during the event known as the Hall of Flowers. I was immediately struck by the care and quality of his self-grown flower and ebullient packaging. In an age where so much cannabis is grown private-label, I found it deeply refreshing that Jeffrey’s cannabis is very much like his personality. And that would be outgoing with a ready smile and a firm handshake that says. We are the GoodGood, don’t forget it! And I didn’t forget because what Jeffrey has brought to the market is deliciously fun and deeply bemusing. I was especially impressed by his flowers. They speak my language. Their LOUD. And the effect? Deeply healing. They are, truly- in my humble opinion, the GoodGood. Impressive and agreeable to my body. I love the attention to detail in the rolling of their pre-rolls. They pack a lot of cannabis in each joint. Each one is just perfect. Every time.
But this article isn’t just about their marvelous flowers, it’s about the man behind the brand, Jeffrey Garber, and I hope you feel his challenges and successes, one puff at a time. Cheers! WB
Warren Bobrow: What obstacles do you face in your company? How do you remove them?
Jeffrey L. Garber: We have overcome many obstacles since the birth of the Yellow Dream Farm, starting with the licensing and construction stage, getting power, and doing a full license and build out in 6 months for our state-of-the-art 30,000 sq. ft. cultivation facility. Our biggest challenge has been pioneering vertical farming and dialing in our genetic line and our seven flower rooms of 162 lights double stacked with 20ft ceilings. Dialing in the microclimates, airflow, VPD, and managing the different dry backs of the plants throughout the different areas of the rooms. It has not only been a difficult challenge but a very exciting one. The team and I thrive on seeing the daily improvements we make through the different cycles.
Vertical farming in cannabis has had rapid growth in the industry and has gained a lot of traction recently not only due to the advancements in technology in the industry but also the volatile marketplace, price per pound being lower than ever, worldwide inflation creating higher COGS, and high tax rates. We are looking for every edge above the competition to cut costs, maximize efficiencies, and lower costs to stay competitive without compromising the quality of flower we produce. This has been our main goal and mission for the company, and our first house brand GoodGood aims to prove that narrative and produce boutique quality cannabis at scale and provide luxury cannabis products at affordable prices.
Vertical farming does not have decades of knowledge and experience like the traditional growing styles of single-tier HPS lights. We learn from trial and error as they did decades ago and always aim to share the knowledge we have gained along the way with other farmers looking to grow vert. We are able to remove these obstacles with our full automation of feeding and environmental controls and our media sensors, all of which collect an abundance of data that we thrive off. We live in the grow rooms but spending time analyzing this data is key to success in commercial cannabis and helps guide our decision-making process.
Building the right team around you and finding trustworthy, passionate people remains our top goal and priority. We love to teach, and your team is everything; and finding a loyal, dedicated, passionate team that shares a similar mindset. We are so grateful for the team we have built today.
WB: Goals? Six and twelve-month goals?
JLG: Our big goal for Yellow Dream Farm is to become 100% vertically integrated through our delivery operations and eventual retail stores. We’d like to see GoodGood gain 30% of the market share in California on the branded side of the cannabis industry. In the next 6-12 months, we’ll have a fully operational delivery and retail arm, and we are looking forward to launching more in-house brands and collaborations with the best artists.
We recently ran an exciting promotion on social media called #GoodGoodUnderground, where we asked artists to submit exclusive designs in a contest to design our next merchandise item, a t-shirt. 100% of the proceeds of this merch item will be donated to the Last Prisoner Project, whose mission is to free all non-violent cannabis prisoners and work to right the wrongs of the drug war.
WB: When you smoke, what is your favorite stoner food? Why?
JLG: I love pizza, especially because I’ll always be a New Yorker at heart. My favorite flavor is classic cheese pizza.
WB: Favorite food memory from childhood? Why?
JLG: Right after school ended in high school in New York City, I used to go to my favorite pizza spot to get the 2 for $5 deal. Two slices of pizza and a drink for $5, and I’d spend the other $15 on a dub of Sour D. My friends would all reconvene in a coveted spot called the Great Lawn in Central Park, where I met some of my best friends. Weed always brought people from different neighborhoods and lifestyles together, and that was one of my favorite parts about growing up in the melting pot.
WB: Favorite restaurant now. Why?
JLG: Now that I’m living in LA, I’m always on the hunt for the best sushi spots. Sushi Fumi is my most frequently visited spot as well as I love the chicken parm and spicy fusilli from Jon and Vinny’s.
WB: What is your passion?
JLG: Outside of cannabis, I play polo with my family (that’s the sport played on horses.) It’s always been a big passion of mine growing up, and I play with my siblings on our family team. We will soon be starting our GoodGood polo team in our area. I’ve also done a lot of charity events and philanthropic events through polo, serving underserved communities and hospitals in our area. I still play in the Santa Barbara and Palm Springs areas, and the sport is becoming more and more popular on the West Coast.
Nothing says “summer” like picnics, barbecues and beach trips, all fueled by ice-cold beers and spiked seltzers.
However, alcohol is downright terrible for your health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, long-term effects of alcohol include high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, digestive problems, multiple kinds of cancer and mental health problems. A two-year pandemic hasn’t helped, either — one study shows that binge drinking has increased 21 percent since the onset of COVID-19.
Cannabis use is on the rise as well, with 38 states with medical marijuana programs and 18 states legalizing it recreationally. According to a 2019 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 43.5 million people reported using cannabis.
Studies suggest that cannabis may carry less of a risk compared to alcohol. Some low-dose infused beverages even include magnesium, L-theanine and other functionals and terpenes for specific applications, like sleeping or working out.
“We’re learning that alcohol is toxic at lower doses than we realized, so even a drink a day is definitely worse than a 5-milligram edible for (the) liver and probably worse for brain shrinkage long-term,” says Mitch Earleywine, professor of psychology at the University at Albany, SUNY, and author of Understanding Marijuana.
Low-dose THC beverages are a crisp, cool, non-alcoholic alternative that help you avoid feeling like you’re the only one not drinking at the barbecue.
Go “low and slow,” says Austin Stevenson, chief innovation officer at Vertosa, a cannabis chemistry company which produces active ingredients for infused product makers like Artet, Cann and Wunder. “People will start between 2 and 5 milligrams, then they’ll want to graduate to 10 milligrams” — the single-serving limit of cannabis beverages.
These beverages come in multiple dosing levels — starting at 2 milligrams all the way to 10 milligrams — and resemble popular sippables like seltzers, beers and cocktails, minus the hangover.
The Best Cannabis Beverages of 2022
Klaus
The three varieties of cannabis-infused beverages, mixed by Warren Bobrow, are for classic cock- tail lovers with a penchant for cannabis. Each can packs 10 milligrams of THC and high-quality ingredients found in restaurants and hotels, like extra hot and spicy ginger syrup from Pickett Brothers.
This was the pitch. I’ve included it here because it offers the framework for a topic that I used to write about but stopped. Why? And what was it? It was CBD derived from hemp.
Photo Credit: Leafreport
The reason is pretty simple. Most CBD sold around the globe is no more than snake oil; quack medicine sold in gas stations as a cure-all. This topic is really not worthy of my time. Thus, I stopped writing about health products and got rich, quick CBD multi-level marketing scam products that may or may not do anything.
I turned down pitch after pitch because there really are no rules in CBD.
Why are rules important?
Well, look at the alcohol industry for an example. There are no rules in rum, for instance. You can do almost anything to it, from adding a hundred grams of sugar to caramel coloring that fools the drinker into thinking that dark rum is old rum. It’s not old, only colored and sweetened.
When was the last time that you saw an ingredient label on a bottle of rum or any spirits for that matter?
Wait, that sounds like the CBD business! No transparency.
Where was it grown, and what kind of nutrients were used? Is it toxic when smoked? All unknowns.
Here’s to transparency in CBD testing. Cheers!
Photo Credit: Leafreport
Hi Warren,
After reading a few of your CBD-related articles, I think you’ll find this research interesting. Could you believe that 1 out of 4 CBD products was NOT tested for microbial content, pesticides, or heavy metals?
Leafreport.com reviewed 2946 CBD products from 136 CBD brands in terms of purity and potency testing. It turns out that what is advertised and what CBD products actually contain are completely different.
Only 13% of brands tested almost all of their products for purity testing, checking for microbial content, pesticides, or heavy metals
25% of brands reviewed didn’t carry out any purity testing at all.
84% of potency-tested products didn’t measure within the acceptable variance of up to 10%.
Only 42% of brands test almost all of their products for potency (90%-100%) and share their third-party lab results with consumers.
Spokesperson Gal Shapira, Product Manager at Leafreport, says, “Lack of transparency in CBD industry is a real issue for consumers. They are being fooled on a daily basis by brands and advertisers. This is the reason we invested $25,000 in this market research to bring more clarity to the CBD industry and protect consumers from false CBD products.”
Is this something you would be interested in covering?
If you need more information, feel free to get in touch.
How could I say no? Knowledge in CBD? Good luck with that until recently.
Photo Credit: Leafreport
Please tell me about yourself? Where are you from? What brought you to the cannabis (CBD) space? Curiosity? Health?
I was born in Russia and moved to Vancouver, Canada, when I was 12. I’ve always been interested in writing and started doing small online freelance writing gigs in 2010. I have an Associate of Arts degree in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Geography.
After finishing university in 2015, I decided to go into freelance writing full-time. I got an ongoing gig writing articles about dietary supplements based on published research studies. It was a good fit because I’ve always been interested in health and have tried many supplements.
That’s how I discovered CBD in 2017. It was a new supplement that had a lot of hype around it but not a lot of good information. I tried it out and was impressed by its anxiety, sleep, workout recovery, and overall health effects.
I started reading studies about CBD, writing articles, trying products and decided to specialize in writing about CBD. I’ve written dozens of evidence-based CBD articles for Leafreport.
Please tell me about your philosophy on clarity and transparency in the CBD industry. What are the best practices? Why is CBD sold in gas stations?
Although the FDA has sent warning letters to CBD companies that make unsubstantiated health claims or sell substandard products, by and large, the CBD industry is unregulated.
Photo Credit: Leafreport
That’s why third-party testing done by independent, accredited laboratories is so important in the CBD industry. It’s essentially a form of self-regulation that assures consumers that CBD products actually contain what’s advertised and are free of potential contaminants.
The first thing I always check when reviewing CBD products and brands is third-party testing. Are the tests publicly available? Are they up to date? Are they done by a reputable lab? Are both potency (levels of cannabinoids) and contaminant (pesticides, residual solvents, etc.) test results present?
This gives you a pretty good idea of whether the CBD brand is reputable and trustworthy. Of course, there are many other best practices as well. For example, it’s always best when brands are vertically integrated, meaning they grow the hemp, extract it, and make the finished CBD products themselves.
CBD is sold in gas stations because it’s a popular health and wellness product. But these products tend to be of low quality because they’re often made by shady companies that don’t provide third-party test results or even have a website.
Who is responsible for policing the labeling of CBD products in the United States? What is permitted on the labeling?
The FDA is responsible for regulating the labeling and packaging of cannabis products. But technically speaking, the FDA doesn’t currently consider CBD products as dietary supplements and doesn’t allow them to be sold as such. That’s because CBD is used as an ingredient in a pharmaceutical drug approved by the FDA (Epidiolex). So, this creates a strange situation where CBD products are obviously being sold as dietary supplements even though the FDA is technically against that.
As far as I’m aware, the FDA has not released any specific labeling requirements for CBD products. Instead, CBD product manufacturers are following the established labeling rules for dietary supplements, which include showing the amount of the active ingredient, ingredients list, name and location of the manufacturer, supplement facts panel, and so on. Another rule is that they cannot make any health claims that their product can treat any disease or related symptom.
I hear it all the time that CBD is a cure-all, yet there is very little in the way of regulation on what can and cannot be stated on the label; who is the governing body?
CBD is not a cure-all. But the reason it gets that reputation is that over 9,000 studies of CBD have been published to date, suggesting a myriad of potential benefits for everything from inflammation and pain to neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s. But most of CBD’s potential benefits need higher-quality evidence (placebo-controlled clinical trials) before we know for certain.
In terms of health claims, those are regulated by the FDA and FTC. The FDA mostly regulates claims on product labels, while the FTC regulates claims in advertising. Dietary supplement manufacturers are not allowed to make claims that their products can help with any health condition or disease (with the exception of approved health claims, which require high-quality research and official authorization from the FDA).
Even though the FDA does not currently consider CBD products to be dietary supplements, it still treats them as such in terms of health claims. That’s why the FDA regularly sends out warning letters to CBD companies that sell misleading products or make unauthorized claims that their products can treat symptoms of related conditions, like saying that their CBD oil can help with cancer or treat insomnia.
What is your passion?
I’m passionate about improving my health and helping others do the same through safe, natural, time-tested methods. That’s why I was immediately drawn to CBD — it’s natural, non-intoxicating, has little to no side effects even with daily use, and has been used for its health benefits for thousands of years as a component of cannabis.
I exercise and practice meditation and intermittent fasting daily, in addition to taking herbal supplements like CBD and ashwagandha. I’ve read thousands of studies about CBD and other supplements and enjoy breaking down what I learn into simple language that helps others improve their health naturally.
As a New Jersey medical cannabis program patient, I can tell you that low THC cannabis is what my particular affliction requires. But good luck going into a dispensary and asking for strains that test lower than 10 or 12 percent THC. The consensus is pretty clear. The chasing of (high) THC levels is something that is not going away. You’re going to get blank stares, or worse, should you ask the budtender for anything that actually alleviates your ills. With the marketing behind cannabis driving up THC levels, it’s truly refreshing to find people like Joshua Steensland, who studies low THC level cannabis
Warren Bobrow: Please tell me where you’re from and where you live now? What do you do? Please tell me about your company.
Joshua Steensland: I was born in Northern California and grew up in SE Washington state. After serving in the Marines and going through
Photo Credit: Steve Raisner
my roaming gypsy phase, I set roots back in the area I grew up to raise my family. I currently work with our family business, Regenerative Ecoworks LLC, to help cannabis cultivators develop living soil cultivation systems around the world. I also own and operate a premium living soil, low THC, flower facility with two of my Marine veteran brothers, Ohio Fire Factory. The barrier to entry in the high THC space in Ohio is steep and nearly impenetrable in its current state. We decided to leverage the emerging low THC flower market and build out an indoor facility to the same spec one would build a high THC facility with the intention of switching to high THC as soon as the state will allow or recreational gets voted in. Our flower is cold cured, hand-trimmed, and grown in living soil beds under LED lights. Our attention to detail and commitment to treating the flower with the same care and consideration one would with high-value THC flower produces a quality not seen very often in the smokeable hemp flower game. We actually don’t really like calling it hemp because of the negative associations of hemp flower being low quality. Our product is indistinguishable from top shelf, high THC flower. We prefer to call it what it is; ultra-premium, low THC, cannabis.
WB: What obstacles do you face? How do you anticipate removing them? What are your six and twelve-month goals?
JS: These are great questions! I’ve really found over the years, nearly all of the obstacles to my success have been self-imposed in some way. What I mean by that is in the past, I wasn’t open to the deep self-analysis that is necessary to make course corrections on the fly and be a more effective communicator.
Balancing being self-critical with giving myself grace and allowing for forgiveness when I’ve been a less than an effective communicator. Yes, it still happens. This has been a critical thought exercise that helps me retain my sanity when the juggle starts to feel chaotic or if things start to feel unstable. It gives me the time to analyze objectively and not make important decisions based on emotions only which tend to be a very temporary and limiting headspace.
Photo Credit: Joshua Steensland
In 6 months, I would like to see Ohio Fire Factory’s three-phase build-out complete, and in a years’ time, I would like to see our product changing the low THC flower game nationwide while inspiring veterans and cultivators alike to cultivate with living soil systems.
WB: Who is your mentor? Who taught you your craft?
JS: I have several mentors, and they are, either directly or indirectly, my teachers also.
Firstly, Masanobu Fukuoka. He is the author of “The one-straw revolution .”His book really opened my eyes to the possibility of simplifying farming and cultivation by paying attention to the forces of nature and learning to work with mother nature’s design as opposed to against it and hammering it to our will. It’s a very easy and inspiring read. His story of how he transformed his property is nothing short of amazing.
I need to include Dr. Elaine Ingham in this list. Her decades of work studying the important role biology plays in plant growth, and nutrient cycling deserves more attention than it receives. Her body of work, “Foundation Course” classes and microscopy training were fundamental in helping me connect the dots as to what I was observing in my living soil cultivation journey and strengthened my resolve when it comes to my Fukuoka style of minimal input, hands-off cultivation.
I think some honorable mentions would be Rudolf Steiner, John Kempf, Dr. Tom Dykstra, and Dr. Arden Andersen. I highly suggest checking out the body of work these gentlemen have produced regarding regenerative cultivation practices and finding ways to incorporate them into your systems.
WB: What is your favorite food? Restaurant? Why?
JS: Favorite food!!! That’s a tough one. We love food in our house. My daughter and I actually have spent hours watching street food videos
Photo Credit: Joshua Steensland
and already have our dream Japanese street food vacation planned! We don’t eat at many restaurants because we like to cook and prepare food at home as much as possible. We try to eat healthy, vibrant, and nutritionally dense foods but recognize the need for flexibility and balance and enjoy a slice of cake or cookies from time to time, probably a little more than we should, but what’s life if you aren’t living it right?! My absolute favorite foods are any authentic Mexican food or a pan-seared rib eye, bloody rare, with sweet potatoes and broccoli. Pretty simple guy to please here.
WB: What is your passion?
JS: My passions are pretty simple. Family. Cannabis and simple living. The real joy has been finding a way to put all of those things together and create revenue streams that put a roof over our head, food on the table, and explore and deepen my relationship with cultivation in general. This also affords my wife the ability to explore her passions and set the example to our children that one can quite literally forage their own path in this world if you lead with integrity and courage.
