2018 marks over seven (7) years officially working in the cannabis ecosystem.  Truthfully, and this is off the record, my experience branches back a bit further in informal experience with the community known as "OMMP" which stands for Oregon Medical Marijuana Program.  I have used cannabis for over 25 years now as a 37 year old and I owe it to this plant, and the Oregon Medical Cannabis Community, that I am able to enjoy such a high quality of life, devoid of any pharmaceutical prescriptions whatsoever - a highly unlikely statistical possibility given my diagnosis - almost 100% of adults with my physical disorder are on some sort of narcotic, NSAID, as well as SSRIs.  I officially joined the state patient registry in 2009 but had already been interfacing with many of the most experienced and knowledgeable people  in the Oregon medical community before then. 

 

Back in the beginning, I realized quickly that what I understood about cannabis was extremely little and that there is no substitute for working directly with the plant around highly knowledgeable and experienced people when it comes to learning the various intricacies and complexities of one of the most sophisticated organisms on the planet .  I learned quickly that learning through osmosis is a sure way to become proficient without "doing it the hard way first".  My aptitude is one of my strongest qualities and the cannabis plant has been an amazing teacher, one that I could live many times over and never be a "master grower". 

 

Since launching my small business support company "Prevailing Plant", I have had some of the most unique experiences I could have ever asked for.  Many were trying, almost all were educational, but certainly all were formative.  I have been able to help small businesses with specific projects or "log jams" that they have encountered.  I found many companies being open to having an extra layer of "IT Guy" confirmation on what is being used so that private or critical information doesn't get compromised in some way.  Many wanted "New Tech Solutions" to things many other companies where slugging along with no managed solution for at all (communication, client management, resource sharing, enhanced meeting management). 

 

 Most overridingly, its been rewarding providing property and facility scouting and due diligence for regulatory compliance and rating reports on specific geographies as well as specific buildings and "complexes".  This is a very crucial step for new entrepreneurs in the cannabis space, as well as for serial entrepreneurs who are on their newest adventure; I have found "property surprises" to be the number one road to ruin for a new, shiny business deal even for experienced organizations with multiple people assigned to property vetting.  My upbringing on a farm, building things has now become a major layer of innate experience that I bring to my consulting services, scouting properties from a farmers, growers, or from a builders perspective is a great SOP for finding faults in anything you analyze. 

 

I look forward to a new year, full of new projects, new clients, and new horizons to reach for.  What I enjoy most about being a part of this "cannabis thing" we are building, is that it has a lot to do with this "American thing" we are building and some people get to call it an industry, others get to call it a community, while others get to call it a criminality.  What's true in all of these assessments is that it's a thing, and we either build it, or it gets weaponized and consumerized  like everything else in the world. 

 

I make my efforts count, and I make my efforts count towards helping cannabis become emancipated of it's plantistic demagogue status and give each individual cannabis plant access to each individual human - 1x1, 1x1, 1x1 until everyone finds the strain, dosage, and medium that befits their body, mind, and spirit.  It will likely be a family of strains, as it seems intelligent beings like company, and so we continue in ensemble.