Sustainability Issues and Solutions in the Cannabis Industry

     Let's not kid around, the cannabis industry is rapidly expanding and just as when any economy or industry expands quickly, the chase for the almighty dollar makes the environment an afterthought. If we look back at the timber industry, your choice of manufacturing, energy production and most all other industries, when times get rockin' the environment starts suffering. But lessons of the past don't have to be repeated in this industry IF everyone involved takes a minute to look at their own activities and do their part to have a positive impact on their surrounding environment.  Two areas of concern are the impact that the industry is having on water and carbon emissions.  But to qualify these two as actual risks, we need some numbers to quantify the impacts.   The issue with quantifying is in part due to the nature of the industry and many times illegal operations are clandestine.  So I turn to two scientific studies that help will help show a snapshot and make it a reasonable assumption the cannabis industry is having enough of an impact for people to act.

      The first study was conducted by a group in the Eureka, California area in conjunction with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Department.  Isolating four watersheds in northwestern California and using aerial imagery the group was able to estimate the plant counts along with the water flows before and after the cultivation sites.  The goal of the study was to study the impact of marijuana cultivation on watersheds, water flow and the ripple effect of those impacts.

     Marijuana is a thirsty and hungry plant.  Consuming up to 22.7 liters of water per day, marijuana uses much more water than let's say, wine grape which consumes 12.64 liters of water.  Along with the high-water consumption, marijuana cultivation is best during the summer months when precipitation drops for most of the country.  Because of that, many times water is diverted from water sheds and stream flows to water plants which is where the first impact is measured.  According to the study, flow reduction in streams that passed by marijuana cultivation was reduced by up to 23%.  Not only is this having an effect of decreasing water flow to areas such as old-growth redwood stands, the impact of the decreased water flows has a domino effects.  Sensitive aquatic species that depend on those water sheds are being impacted.  Although not quantified, the impact is real and potentially ever-lasting.

      So water consumption is a concern as with the pollution.  I could not find any studies on the impact of outdoor growing in regards to nutrient rich runoff from outdoor growing but common sense is an ally that if something foreign is introduced into a ecological watershed, there's going to be an impact.  And when using "drain to waste" methods of cultivating marijuana the runoff is significant, especially when lit is scaled to the size of the industry.

     But that is a snapshot for outdoor growing.  How about indoor growing?  There are two impacts of indoor growing.  The first is the water consumption and pollution while the second is the carbon footprint left by the amount of energy used in indoor growing operations.  The first is the water use. While the water used by the plant is part of the picture, the other is the use of reverse osmosis water for indoor growing.  Reverse osmosis is the process of purifying water and is largely a staple for indoor cultivation.  The problem is the water waste from reverse osmosis (RO).  Most RO processes will result in 1/3 of the water being usable and 2/3 being drained down the drain as waste.  Being a single plant can use up to six gallons in day, you can see the math adding up the waste that is involved.  The second impact is the pollution.

     Even when using hydroponic growing methods, which requires reservoir changes every couple of weeks, water is then drained into our water systems full of nutrients that were used to feed the plants.  These include salts, excess nitrogen and phosphorus are being delivered into our water systems and just has been documented in the agriculture industry, these foreign contamination can have ill-effects for many down the road.

     The last impact is the energy use.  Everyone that has been engaged in this industry has heard the variations in these numbers.  The most conclusive were completed in 2012 study that estimated that 1% of the nation and 3% of California's energy is used for indoor marijuana cultivation.  That translates for every 2.2 pounds of finished marijuana, over 10,000 lbs of CO2 is released into our atmosphere!  When that is scaled to U.S. production of today, that is roughly the same as 3 million cars!  That's....well it's not good.  But I have my thoughts on solutions.

Push vs. Pull Solutions

     Markets are altered by pushing or pulling.  Pushing is normally government regulations such as what is happening in California going after illegal growers in the redwood areas or Boulder County which is going to require marijuana facilities "directly offset 100% of electricity, propane, and natural (gas) consumption" through renewables or other means.  That will be the focus of the governments that recognize this as an issue and will look to solutions to not repeat what other industries have done while expanding.  The problem with that is, that government can suck.  They are expensive, have little resources to regulate, are slow to act and will interfere with the industry as the outreach continues.

     The other is by pulling the change in the market via the consumer.  That is where the consumer, by having a choice in their products and how they are created, force companies to change their practices to satisfy the customer demands.  A great case in point is in the case of Eco-labels, specifically the WindMade Eco-label that has been launched in Europe.  The WindMade label was created to create a demand for products that were created using wind energy versus coal, nuclear or other non-renewable resourced energy production.  What studies showed were astounding.  Not only would consumers over-overwhelmingly prefer a product made from wind energy but would actually pay a premium for those products.  So in translation, a company that was approved and used the eco-label would not only obtain more market share but also charge more for their products.  Brilliant!  Here are some additional ideas to lessen the impacts to the environment.

Using solar.  Solar in most the entire state of California, Arizona, New York, Nevada, Colorado, Texas and others is cheaper per kilowatt hour than using coal-based grid electricity.  Make the switch to offset the electricity use.

Filter water instead of using RO.  The main culprit in water is the larger contaminants that can just as easily be filtered by a water filtering system.  This will reduce the water waste immensely while still giving your plants the clean water they need.

Find an alternative to drain to waste.  There are plenty of options of systems that re-use water such as hydroponically growing or re-circulating waste water that is then filtered for re-use.  Explore the alternatives and use the waste water on your favorite veggies to limit the nutrients leaching into groundwater.

In my opinion, that is the direction the marijuana industry should aim for in the near future.  By giving customers the option of choosing a Eco-friendly version of their most favorite dank, the industry is "self-regulating" itself while pushing out the growers that are not using sustainable practices.  Unfortunately, I don't think it's possible to make this industry 100% sustainable, especially the black market, and there will be some need for government oversight, at least the industry can help pave their own way to making great products while being kind to our Mother Nature.

Aaron
If you love your bud, kiss a grower!

Resources

Bauer, S., Olson, J., Cockrill, A., Hattem, M. v., Miller, L., Tauzer, M., & Leppig, G. (2015). Impacts of surface water diversions for marijuana cultivation on aquatic habitat in four northwestern California watersheds.

Mooney, C. (2015). One surprising downside of marijuana legalization: Major energy use. Washington: WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post. 

A DIY for Risk Management (I promise this isn't boring!!)

 I realize this is not an exciting subject, seriously I do.  But after reading, you should have a refreshed outlook and appreciation for evaluating risk for planning and launching a new product, business or running the day to day operations.  So to keep this light, the risk that is to be evaluated today is a Sasquatch Attack!  Although silly, it will provide a scenario to apply these lessons.

Risk management is the process of discussing, defining, rating, and formulating a contingency plan if those risks transpire.  As soon as you wake up each day you are living in world of risk.  You risk slipping and falling on your way to work, getting in a fender-bender in the parking lot, slipping and telling your boss to "f-off", forgetting to brush your teeth, and the list goes on and on.  For your business or project, there are also risks but business opens up a whole new set of risks.  Legal issues, delayed time lines, budget constraints, loss of personnel, inventory issues, regulatory issues and especially in the cannabis industry, disruptions in business due to law enforcement or political agendas.  These are all real risks that as a person or business you must recognize and have a fiduciary responsibility to others (family, stakeholders) to pay attention to and make changes if needed.  So how?  How do identify, estimate and treat risks?  This is going to blow your mind.

These are the recommended steps in risk management using a matrix as pictured (in italic are the mandatory steps):

• Identify risks:  Just think.  What could go wrong?  Be realistic, write them down.  No wrong answers here.  For our business, it's a Sasquatch Attack and for us personally, a fender-bender.  If the company has a SWOT analysis, this will help with identifying risks.
• Describe the risk:  The risk may have layers.  There may be primary, secondary, tertiary risks.
• Estimate the risk:  
• First what type of risk is it?  Financial, legal, quality management, what area of the business does it affect?  
• What is the likeliness of the risk?  Rating the risk 1-10, what is the likeliness of this risk happening?  Sometimes, as in the case of Sasquatch Attack!, rated 1 on the scale, you will quickly discover that this risk is a phantom risk.  In the case of a fender-bender I would rate that as a 7, more than likely we're likely to be in a fender-bender.
• What would be the impact of the risk?  Again rate the impact 1-10.  If a there was a Sasquatch Attack! the impact would be a 6...I couldn't imagine the carnage.  For a fender-bender the impact would also be high, maybe a 8.  
• Delegate risk:  Who's in charge of this risk and the person that is enabled and in charge of detecting and acting upon the risk. 
• Quantify the risk.  Taking your likeliness number and impact number, add them up.  Hey, you just quantified risk!  How's it feel, amazing right?!  Sasquatch is a 7 and fender-bender is a 17. Note:  Quantifying is a TOOL in risk management and not the final word, use common sense along with these steps and tools. 
• Decide on the overall levels of risks and if it warrants a treatment.  If a risk rates 5 and under the treatment might be nothing.  You can't do anything about it, but play "damage control" if the risk transpires. If the risk is likely and will have a high impact, as in the fender-bender and scores a 17,  it will need a treatment. As for the Sasquatch attack, with a score of 7, the heaviness of the likeliness factor would probably drag this risk into the same realm of doing nothing.  If it's not going to happen, forget about it. 
• Make changes, consult others, insure or other for risks requiring treatment.  Now that the risks have been identified, described, delegated and evaluated, you need to do something about it.  In the case of the fender-bender one may take a driving class and obtain insurance.  It can also be being very diligent and not distracted while in a Costco parking lot.  For other scenarios it may require expert advice, so bringing in a consultant, getting legal advice or, if the risk is extremely likely and will have a high impact, may lead to scrapping the entire project.  
• Monitor for risks.  Know what you're looking for and keep a look out for indicators.  

So there you go.  An easy step by step in evaluating risk and being another step ahead in the game.

Keep growing,

Aaron

Customizing an Effective Social Media Marketing

Customizing an Effective Social Media Marketing

Social media can be a strong mechanism of increasing a brand's awareness, brand loyalty and web traffic.  As for revenue, there is an indirect effect but even most social media gurus will attest that any social media campaign will not have an effect on top-line revenue.  Social media is a process of engaging your customers and creating ambassadors for your product and to help spread the word of the benefits of your product.  In that, there are different approaches to promoting your product dependent if the product is considered "fun" or "useful". So before engaging in a social media campaign a marketing manager should consider designing a campaign that takes into account the type of product and what type of incentives will be used to attract traffic.

Social media is considered a platform for entertainment.  One of the biggest mistakes of social media campaigns is posting content that is boring, not useful or not entertaining.  Case studies show that "fun" messages are shared and "useful" messages are quickly dismissed.  In fact, "useful" messages can actually be counter-productive.  Although the product or message had good intentions, useful products and their accompanying useful messages lead to the message not being spread and turning those "likes" into "unfriending".  As for how to design a campaign, here are a couple of ideas that may help your next campaign.

• Keep content light and fun.  Visualize social media platforms as an opportunity to entertain others and then slip in your brand as it comes up in conversation.
• Think about using incentives.  If you have a fun message along with an incentive, empirical data shows those campaigns have a further outreach and are better received by the recipients.
• Design your content dependent on the audience and mark your calendars.  Match that fun content to the software engineer who is off work that you want to engage and make sure to keep his/her interest every few days.  That is what leads to brand loyalty and trust.  
• While most of your content should be fun, every now and then, let people know what you and your company do for a living.  But be humble, no one likes boasting.
• Find your "grumpy cat".  Using analytics of whatever platform that you are using, see what is being effective and play off of that and replicate.  Trial and error is part of the process.
• Engage!  Include yourself in conversations and reciprocate "re-tweets" and other kind gestures.
• Persistence and patience, as in so many things, is key to an effective campaign.

Social media is an extremely useful tool for SEO, brand awareness, building loyalty and trustworthiness but don't be too serious.  Social media was meant to be fun and entertaining and if you try to change the rules, you're campaign will likely run short of expectations.  Keep growing!

Getting Started Growing Pot

Getting Started (keep it in your pants, turbo)

Getting Started (keep it in your pants, turbo)

If you are going to start growing, here’s a basic guideline and some important questions to ask yourself before starting. First of all, smart move on growing indoors for yourself! You’ll find, if you haven’t already, that indoor gardening is a very satisfying hobby that tantalizes the mind and soothes the soul.

You’ll never regret having started to grow, but the more groundwork you lay in the beginning, the better off you’ll be during the process - and will make for less stress and a healthier garden.

The first question to ask yourself is, why? Or in other words, what is your motivation and goals?  If it’s just to try a new hobby or this is for personal use, you’ll want to start with one or two plants and scale up as you learn more. If it’s for personal use plus product to use for bartering and trade, you’ll want more plants, but keep in mind your budget and available space.  Once you’ve soul-searched, we can continue… (mild salsa music playing).

Very well.  Let’s get started.  First, decide on whether you’ll be growing in soil or hydroponically.  The advantages to soil are that it’s cheaper, easier to manage, and some say the taste of the final product is better. The advantage to hydroponic growing is that it produces faster plant growth, which can be good because your plants will grow faster - but bad, because you’ll have less time to correct any issues such as nutrient deficiencies or illness. Hydroponically growing requires more attention because of the rapidity with which things can go wrong.  Do some research before deciding, but either method requires the same in regards to your environment and lighting, which is what you’ll have to look at next.

For lighting and the environment, check out this basic setup in a hallway closet New Test Area. The light is a full-spectrum 900 watt LED and a basic fan circulates the air.  A first setup needs to have the basics of light, cleanliness, and air circulation, with plant-tolerant temperatures of 65-80˚F and humidity levels between 40-70%. I’ll go into more detail in upcoming posts regarding different kinds of lighting, controlling your environment and other aspects. 

Keep growing!!

Aaron

PS) Love your bud? Kiss a grower.

Want the Best Bud? (I know…silly question!) - It’s Easier Than You Think

Fisherman and growers are similar creatures. Some like to tell tall tales about their catch or harvests and how incredible their techniques are, some are modest and humble and just work hard, but both will never give away their secrets. Well, today I’m going to spill the beans on what I consider to be the secret for growing top-shelf plants. Ready? This is going to blow your mind: the secret to growing is quality genetics and environmental conditions. Oh, I know, what a letdown. As a hydro shop owner, I always got that question, and after experimenting with so many different growing mediums, methods and nutrients, success always boiled down to the most basic of controls: the quality of the genetics and the environment in which the plants were grown.  

Genetics is a never-ending quest. To date, there are 256,000 potential genetic cross-combinations for cannabis. That’s a big number! Now, that has favorable implications and not so favorable ones. My very good friend, known only as Dr. T , is a mad geneticist. I emphasize MAD because the man is brilliant but his methods are a bit scary. Thus far, he has created 72 new strains that have “made the cut” to be preserved. In that pursuit, there have been plants with only one leaf, ones that looked like thorn bushes and others that were just plain homely. But at the same time, there were strains that blew my mind in quality, aroma, yield and aura. These strains, planted in same environment as others, were consistently healthy, robust growing plants that produced top-shelf product.

What this highlights is the power that genetics plays in final results. Take your time and be critical of what strains you do put in your garden, and don’t be afraid to move on from lousy strains…remember, there are a plenty of options. After genetics, the plant’s environment is the next most critical factor for quality results.

For indoor growing, the environment includes temperature, humidity, cleanliness, light, airflow and keeping each of those in check throughout the growing process. In indoor growing, you are nature and your plants are dependent on you to create their growing environment. Some basics are to make sure your lights have spectrums that duplicate the sun’s spectrum, fresh air, and a gentle circulation of the air.  For best results, keep temperatures in a range of 65-85 degrees F and humidity levels around 60% during the vegetative stage and 35% during the flowering stage.

Keeping outside elements such as insects and disease away is critical, so always make sure you keep those pesky outsiders out of your garden. Very important: after visiting a garden center, hydro shop or another garden, always take precautions before visiting your own garden so as not to inadvertently transport and transfer nasty hitchhikers like aphids, spider mites or whiteflies to your plants. And if you ever see any insects, mildew or similar problems, always take immediate action. Those are issues that can get out of control real fast, so knock them out with an iron fist right away.  

So there you go: the big secret that is the basis of growing quality buds for you to enjoy. From the basics, you can try different growing mediums, nutrients and methods - but as long as you are working with good genetics and have a nice home for your plants, you’ll always come out smelling like…the chronic.  Keep growing!!

Aaron

If you love your bud, kiss a grower

Video of garden Dr. T's Garden

Deep in Gilbert Unveils a Detailed DIY Guide to Launching a Product into the

 Cannabis Industry.

Here it is. This is a very detailed guide how to launch a non-consumable product in the cannabis industry. This is not based on theory or hear-say, this is based upon on numerous successful product launches in the cannabis industry and is not as much advice, but more of a recipe for success for the industry. Along with the strategy, you also receive a business plan template, a new business checklist and a worksheet that will be used along with the strategy. After completed, you and your team will have a crystal clear path of how to get your product out there and start collecting top-line revenue. Altogether this guide and attachments are more than 50 pages!

This guide covers all products that are non-consumable directed at cannabis users, growers, retailers, wholesalers and dispensaries. This is not for consumable products such as edibles or flower, that version will be out very soon. This applies to new products for smoking, storing, using or growing marijuana.  Subjects that are covered are:  Creation of the mission statement, how to create a sales pitch that sticks, whom to speak to in regards to retailing and wholesaling your product, how to implement a sales and marketing strategy and much more.   With more than 50 pages of content this detailed guide will take you from point A all the way to point Z with no gaps.  

Why did I create this? Because mistakes are expensive in business and if someone is not familiar with business practices, terminology, and tools they are going to make a lot of mistakes...guaranteed. I want less people to make mistakes and be successful. That's why (I'm a simple guy).

I also host an online conference once a week available to customers where we cover questions regarding specific strategies, common issues with start-ups and anything else that comes to mind. The goal is to collaborate with others and build a supportive community to help spread the word and grow businesses together! I am always available for Q&A via email and will be available throughout the business launch process to make sure you are successful.

Buy It Here

I hope you see the value and please reach out with any questions.  All the best and keep growing!

Gilbert

Buy It Here

New Business Tool Kit Including Business Plan Template, 90 Day Strategy and New Business Checklist

Opening a new business can be a daunting task. It just takes good planning, persistence, patience and making the correct steps strategically. It's in fact, extremely critical that time or money is not wasted in the early stages which is why I put together this package. What is included is exactly I could have used when starting my first business. The new business toolkit is from years of leading, assisting and following business and product launches in different markets. There are core essentials to a successful launch and this business toolkit is the recipe for getting your from point A to point Z and being on the track of success.

Here’s what is included:

            -New Business Checklist which covers the essentials to forming a business.

            -Business Plan Template with detailed instructions.

            -Business Launch Plan. A play-by-play instructional to a successful business launch.

The launch plan includes all aspects inclusive of creating the mission statement, identifying target audience, strategy for social media engagement, a sales strategy, fulfillment process, public relations and much more. All aspects include how-to-instructions and how to organize all the pieces into a timeline to implement.

              -Business Worksheet for notes and planning.

Altogether the business tool kit is 46 pages! It’s an essential piece to launching a business and being successful.

Buy it here:  $59 BUY NOW

     Why did I create this? Because mistakes are expensive in business and if someone is not familiar with business practices, terminology, and tools they are going to make a lot of mistakes...guaranteed. I want less people to make mistakes and be successful. That's why.

    I also host an online conference once a week available to customers where we cover questions regarding specific strategies, common issues with start-ups and anything else that comes to mind. The goal is to collaborate with others and build a supportive community to help spread the word and grow businesses together! I am always available for Q&A via email and will be available throughout the business launch process to make sure you are successful.

Buy it here:  $59 BUY NOW

Ideas for an Inexpensive Winter Indoor Garden

     The seasons are changing and the outdoor growing season is winding down, but the winter indoor growing season is just beginning. As I stated in a previous post, when growing indoors you will essentially be Mother Nature to your plants, in complete control of their growth and health. For your health, growing is therapeutic, so with the darker days coming, winter gardens can brighten the spirit.  

But this does not have to be an expensive endeavor. Follow these simple tips for an indoor garden that you’ll love throughout the season.  

• Location, location, location: Your winter garden location needs the following:
  • Control of lighting. Too much outside light can throw off a plant’s growing cycle.
  • Ventilation and air movement. Pulling in outside, temperate fresh air along with circulating the air in the area is healthier for the plants. Plus, it will help with humidity and temperature of the area.  
  • To be clean and inaccessible to outsiders like your favorite kitty cat or roomie. Both have the tendency to grope and prod plants.  
• Lighting: An inexpensive lighting option is using T-5 fluorescent bulbs for growing. Connected to a timer, fluorescents are a perfect option for giving your plants realistic lighting while not breaking the budget.
• Air circulation: A simple window or table fan may be all you need for your growing area. If not freezing, some fresh air along with a slight breeze in your grow area will make for happy plants. 

I made a small, one-plant grow area in a walk-in closet for illustration purposes. In this example, I would have spent around $35, including the Aqua Camel planter. This is an example of how you can utilize a small space, spend very little, and continue growing throughout the winter season. So don’t get stuck with the winter blues... bring your plants indoors and enjoy your winter garden!