Pot themed pop ups have become kind of a regular thing in many of the legal states.
Along with the decision to go legal, many states have also implemented strict rules around marketing, allegedly to save the children, which has made it difficult for the legal market groups to get the word out about their products.
Limited to some number of available billboards, many of the MA companies are active in the industry trade show circuit, and these "pop-ups" are basically an expression of that practice.
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I had seen that Patriot Care Cannabis' Greenfield location was hosting one such event, where there would organically grown cannabis providers present.
I was excited to talk to groups such as Aruna, Tower 3and Breathe Free who are all growing cannabis organically in living soil.
Over the past ten or so years, there has been growing interest in the benefits of working with living soil especially in private, small scale vegetable gardens.
It has become popular to attend seminars on incorporating mycelium and microbes and humites into folk's grow projects and many well known, award winning cultivators will tell you that it is a best practice, especially for the end users of the legal cannabis industry.
Genetics can play a key role in the success of an operation, especially for the "outdoorsmen", and particularly here in New England, where the climate can be tricky business for its participating cultivators.
Breathe Free Cannabis' resident geneticist Buffalo, was fielding questions at the Patriot Care pop up, and he personally invited me out for a tour to check out their nearby facility.
Always excited to take pictures in a white onezie and associated "ppe" and of course while under a massive canopy filled with ganja, I took him up on the offer straight away.
Breathe Free operates out of an 1800s era mill in The town of Ware, which has been converted for modern use.
One of the owners, Rick Lotuff
is also heavily invested in the textile industry with his Berkshire Blanket Company as well as a high quality hand made leather bag operation.
Ware, Massachusetts had previously been a major player in the textile industry of 200 years ago, but has since devolved into a sleepy little town out near the Berkshires.
The operation has stated goals of sparking a resurgence, to put it bluntly, one that would take advantage of existing hydro electric enabled infrastructure and revitalize the entire town with industry,
as one very interesting aspect of this particular project is their in-house, energy generating, water-powered turbines.
Because energy costs have increased so dramatically over recent years, it is more important than ever to do more with smaller feet. While many are looking to solar power to bridge gaps, very few are able to offset those costs by harnessing the power of naturally running water resources.
Currently Breath Free is occupying a fraction of their enormous facility, but have future plans to possibly build out a dispensary even a legal consumption lounge, if the social consumption piece is ever given the green light by the struggling consortium of King Makers, The CCC of Massachusetts.
In the mean time they plan on continuing their practice of endlessly popping seeds into hand watered living soil filled pots, and with tje intention of bringing the best possible cannabis to the dispensaries of the bay state, where budget driven mso midz are alarmingly becoming the "norm".
Sad stories, however cann look like opportunity to those brave members of operations, seeking to do better.
Patriot Care Pop Ups and Breathe Free Cannabis of MA
... Highly Recommended