Theoretically, cannabis should be as easy to grow as a weed, considering the plant’s nickname. In the real world, cultivating high-quality, biosynthetically-grown (or, a hybrid organic) marijuana as a for-profit business is anything but easy, according to The Herbal Cure’s lead cultivation technician, Don Newman. The Denver-based medical and recreational cannabis grower and dispensary is a recent winner of six first-place awards for traits such as flavor, yield and potency.
Like many growers, The Herbal Cure cultivates cannabis in buildings that had to be retrofitted extensively to meet legal cultivation standards. An ample budget allowed the company to build an optimal environment for indoor cannabis cultivation. “A lot of cannabis growers operate in older warehouses that constantly need to be fixed and updated,” Newman says. “When you do that, you’re always kind of chasing your tail.”
Odor control is a big issue—one they tackle by operating in sealed rooms. In a marketplace where product prices are on the decline, however, it can be challenging to control the climate of the sealed, organic environment while maintaining profitability. “At the end of the day, cannabis prices are dropping, so having your i’s dotted and t’s crossed will determine who remains standing,” Newman says.
