BASALT, Colorado — One cannabis grow in Colorado is setting the bar very high.
Puns aside, marijuana may be legal in the state of Colorado, but that doesn’t mean that all plants are grown with equal care.
While visiting the state, we saw cannabis being grown inside dirt-caked retail stores, in warehouse districts tucked into industrial spaces and behind the glass of a medicinal dispensary in downtown Denver. But 30 minutes outside of Aspen, a pristine 25,000 square-foot facility set against a backdrop of blue skies and mountains is leading a push for a classier cannabis cultivation. It’s pot gone posh.
Silverpeak Apothecary, a fancy pot shop in the heart of downtown Aspen caters to a specific crowd. After all, the store shares a street with Ralph Lauren, an antique shop and if you’re feeling thirsty, an organic juice bar is a short walk away. So it’s no surprise that their grow facility, High Valley Farm, would be its state-of-the-art counterpoint.
“In five or 10 years there will be something much better than this , ” Mike Woods, Silverpeak’s COO, told us as he explained the importance of temperature and light regulations inside High Valley. Because what’s happening in Colorado — and other states like it — is an experiment.
Image: Mashable, Brian Koerber
Security cameras dot the stone and wood facade, not leaving as much as an inch-wide blind spot. If not for the glinting camera domes, the facility could pass for a Colorado spa offering stone massages and sauna rooms that might smell like pine or snow. But after brushing the dirt off our shoes, a heavy metal door opens and the smell of freshly snipped cannabis subtly hits our noses.
After stepping inside, we trade our street shoes for comfortable but ugly plastic Crocs and slip on scrubs tops. No one ever said farming was a fashionable experience, but in a space determined to avoid contamination of its thousands of plants, our look is clinical chic.
After a lengthy sign-in process that could rival a doctor’s office in paperwork, we finally entered the grow facility. Well, not until after stepping into a small air-locked space that separates each of four greenhouses from the common areas of the building. Before each room, we dip our frumpy footwear in a liquid disinfectant to further prevent any possible outside pollutants.
The care and caution that goes into the plants isn’t just for the customers and peace of mind. Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED), which is like the food inspector for weed, can drop in unannounced at any time to ensure that the facilities are in-check — from paperwork to plant count.
Image: Mashable, Brian Koerber
Regardless, you can feel that Jordan Lewis, founder and CEO of Silverpeak, cares about his plants. From mock inspections of the facility to the rigorous weather control inside, you can feel in the air that this was an environment where plants thrive.
Most grows in Colorado started small. “It all started in people’s closets” Woods explains. After recreational legalization last year, grow houses invested in higher quality equipment and small grows expanded to massive facilities. Only a year into recreational legalization, there is no standard setup — and with potential profits on the line, each establishment is constantly testing different standards and equipment.
Image: Mashable, Brian Koerber
“If Colorado trips, it’s a set back,” Woods says, as he stands amongst hundreds of pristine cannabis plants.
High Valley knows its responsibility not only lies in following Colorado’s strict regulations, but also setting a new standard for how cannabis is cultivated in a new world of legalization.
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Additional reporting by Annie Colbert. Video shot, edited and produced by Armand Valdes.
