Customer service isn’t so great these days: It’s dismal to fly on most US airlines and it’s demoralizing to shop in many US supermarkets.
asserted
it → ’ → supermarkets
But as I’ve recently discovered, there’s a notable exception to this unhappy trend, and that would be Pot Inc.
asserted
that → discover → trend
I know — it’s hard to believe an industry dedicated to helping people get stoned cares about anything aside from selling the next joint.
asserted
people → know → joint
The reality, however, is that this is a $50 billion industry that is only going to get bigger now that the feds made it a Schedule 3 drug that can be prescribed by doctors.
asserted
that → go → doctors
Yes, it’s about more than just getting high.
asserted
it → ’ → more
(It helps manage cancer symptoms, for one.)
asserted
It → help → one
Keep in mind, I’m a 64-year-old guy whose politics lean to the right.
asserted
politics → keep → right
I hate the smell of cannabis — and especially the fact that it seems to follow me wherever I walk in NYC these days.
asserted
I → hate → NYC
I work out religiously and am skeptical of all drugs; the last thing I’m doing is putting smoke in my lungs.
asserted
I → work → lungs
I also came to understand that Pot Inc. isn’t a one-size-fits-all business: There’s gummies if you don’t like to smoke, ointments for muscle pain and, as I mentioned, cancer patients see benefits from its usage.
asserted
patients → come → usage
Plus, there’s much about the companies at the top of the cannabis infrastructure that can teach corporate America a thing or two about serving clients.
asserted
that → ’ → clients
I reached this conclusion from some firsthand experience when I recently visited a dispensary in Connecticut.
asserted
I → reach → Connecticut
A nice lady behind a desk checked my ID before I was ushered into a well-appointed showroom.
asserted
I → check → showroom
Then last week, I visited the cultivation operations of a company called Glass House Brands, one of the largest pot companies in the country.
asserted
I → visit → country
It just listed its stock on the NYSE under the symbol GLAS.
asserted
It → list → GLAS
Its farm is located in Camarillo, Calif., about 50 miles north of Los Angeles, a place known for rich soil that’s perfect for growing produce and, as it turns out, weed.
asserted
it → locate → produce
My tour guide was a 49-year-old Gen X’er named Graham Farrar, the company’s president.
asserted
guide → name → ?
On paper, Farrar seems like an unlikely candidate to be leading the charge on the mainstreaming of pot.
asserted
Farrar → seem → pot
He comes from a tech background and farming wasn’t on his résumé until relatively recently.
asserted
farming → come → résumé
In fact, the first thing I noticed when we met is that Farrar is built like an athlete, not the stereotypical stoner.
asserted
Farrar → notice → athlete
“I’ve been using it since I was in junior high school,” Farrar says, and he’s a student of pot in all its various forms.
asserted
he → use → forms
“Though never did I think when I was hanging with my friends I would be running a place like this.”
asserted
I → think → this
“This” being the farm where his product is grown.
asserted
product → grow → ?
Clad in a T-shirt, jeans and work boots, he walked me through all of it — six of the most massive greenhouses I’ve ever seen across 165 acres.
asserted
I → clothe → acres
“Each greenhouse is roughly the width of two football fields and the length of eight,” he says, pointing to a row upon row of various types of weed, including something called “black garlic gelato.”
asserted
he → say → something
Farrar admits smoking a joint comes with risks — it’s smoke, after all.
asserted
it → admit → risks
But he believes science is on his side.
asserted
science → believe → side
“Every study shows it’s better than the alternative,” he says.
asserted
he → show → alternative
“If you don’t like smoking it, there are edibles that get you buzzed without the alcohol aftereffects.”
asserted
you → like → aftereffects
Solar power
Glass House is also at the tip of the spear for its medicinal uses — the stated reason for President Trump’s recent reclassification, he tells me.
asserted
he → state → me
Recall how the AI debate has grown more heated as rural communities are getting hosed with higher utility bills as local resources like water and electricity get sucked up by data centers.
asserted
resources → recall → centers
The Glass House facility, meanwhile, is powered partly by solar panels and reusable energy.
asserted
facility → power → panels
“We grow about 330 sunny days a year here, unlike indoor growers paying to run lights on grid power,” Farrar adds.
asserted
Farrar → grow → power
“Most of our power comes from three on-site natural gas cogeneration plants.
asserted
Most → come → plants
We use their heat to warm the greenhouses and feed the CO2 to the plants.
asserted
We → use → plants
We have our own water supply and don’t rely on a third-party water supply.”
I remind him I’m skeptical about marijuana for lots of reasons, most of all health concerns.
asserted
I → have → all
The market appears to be as well.
asserted
market → appear → ?
Shares of GLAS have nosedived more than 80% since its debut on the NYSE in July and more than 50% over the past five years.
asserted
Shares → nosedive → years
Farrar gives me the bull case.
asserted
Farrar → give → case
Most states already consider it legal.
asserted
it → consider → ?
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
