Desert Hot Springs is most known for the giant wind turbines you see along the freeway on your way into Coachella Valley. Companies like Canndescent, based in Santa Barbara, are going to make the town famous for a different reason. The municipality has opened its doors to cannabis cultivation, and Canndescent may well be the first one in operation.
Adrian Sedlin is the CEO of Canndescent, whose headquarters are in downtown Santa Barbara. Many of the company’s original investors are also local. Sedlin is going after the high-end cannabis market where he sees shortages and opportunities. “Customers have a hard time finding high quality and then relocating it once found,” according to Sedlin. Canndescent plans on filling that need with a perpetual “micro grow” operation.
The micro grow or “craft grow” as it is called in Colorado has many advantages. It allows for the kind of pampering the high-end product requires. Multiple micro-grow rooms mean that the production process can be arranged so that product is always coming on board. It also reduces sharp spikes in labor costs.
Most industry experts agree that customers want more high-end strains. Micro rooms allow for cultivation of many strains, and attention can be paid to the unique needs of each strain as opposed to one strain in bulk. Small rooms allow the grower to customize temperature, humidity, CO2, air circulation, nutrients, and lighting to fit the needs of each strain. This pampering creates happy plants that produce increased resins, higher yields, and higher gross margins.
Large single-strain grows may not fit a market where the customer builds resistance and needs different products. “Climate-controlled micro grows provide the continuous and consistent product quality, supply, and variety necessary for us to maximize market share and curate the cannabis journey each user requires,” according to CEO Sedlin.
Sedlin has an extensive business background in direct-to-consumer businesses and earned an MBA from Harvard. Complementing the business team is the cultivation team of four senior growers and one master grower, who possess a combined 75-plus years of direct experience. Canndescent ‘s master grower and consulting team originated some of the most famous Southern California strains over the past 25 years, including — P-91, Cookie Monster, Hogs Breath, Betsy, and Sugar Cookies.
After satisfying over 150 compliance tasks, required by Desert Hot Springs, the company will soon be ready to go and expects to have plants in its buildings this summer.
Cultivation Capitals
Coastal towns seem to be employing a NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) approach to cannabis cultivation. This has opened the door for many towns like Coalinga, Desert Hot Springs, and other high-desert municipalities. Faced with unrelenting debt, city officials in Coalinga had to make hard choices. This issue has been contentious but seems to be moving toward approval.
The town has been wrestling with this issue since its City Council proposed allowing cultivation and dispensaries earlier this year in an effort to prop up its tax base. At first there was a great deal of division in the community on the controversial proposals, but after several public meetings, it seems as though Coalinga’s citizens have accepted that this is their best chance to get their financial house in order. On March 30, the council approved a plan to turn an empty prison into a cultivation center. The same thing is happening in Victorville and Yucca Valley.
Delivered to Your Front Door
Club M is the creation of Chris Husong out of San Diego and is catching the eye of the high-end consumer. Through its online membership, Club M distributes themed boxes monthly throughout California. This allows the members to sample a variety of high-end products in the safety of their own home. The deluxe M Box resembles an encyclopedia with numerous items fitting into each month’s theme. If the member wants more of an item, it can be ordered online and shipped to your front door.
There are many cannabis users who really do not want to go to a dispensary to purchase. And with delivery services, you may not be seeing all that is available. The privacy of a service like Club M is also appealing. Go to JoinClubM.com for further details.
