CAREGIVER INTERVIEW
N E W T O N ’ S L AW: A N I N T E RV I E W W I T H J A S P E R N E W T O N I N T E R V I E W B Y B E T H A N Y S C H L E H P H O T O S : C O U R T E S Y O F N E W T O N ’ S N U R S E RY
Beth: How long have you been growing cannabis? When was Newton’s Nursery founded? Jasper: Newton’s Nursery was founded in 2014 in Ketchikan, Alaska. I started out with 600-watt lights and some bag seed out of a buddy’s freezer. I started growing cannabis for my own personal enjoyment and the medicinal qualities that I needed. Therefore, I started growing strains that were geared strictly towards my own liking. When I moved to Maine, I started a four-light grow in my garage as a legal caregiver, and since then I have been able to expand and progress into the Newton’s Nursery we know today, and I couldn’t be happier. Beth: What was your occupation before entering the cannabis industry? Jasper: I was a commercial diver in Alaska—ships husbandry, salvage jobs, and fiber optic cable lay. If it needed to be done under water in remote areas, we were the ones you called. Before that, I fished Pacific cod in the Bering Sea for eight years. Beth: Why do you grow the strains that you grow? Jasper: Because I feel like they give me and others the medical benefits that we are looking for. I started growing weed to just have the best quality weed at the end of the day. Once things took off, I realized that other people agreed.
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Beth: What is your favorite strain you have and why? Jasper: I have a lot of favorites but if I had to pick just one… it would have to be Item 9. She has to be at the top of my list! She’s a cross of Original Girl Scout Cookies x Scrappy OG. Scrappy OG was an unreleased strain. This strain is Dog Walker x Girl Time (Original Girl Scout Cookies x Timewreck). Beth: Who are some of your influences in the cannabis industry? Jasper: Pat from Heroes of the Farm because he works hard, and he has done all this on his own. He has always reached out and been very nice to me, shared genetics with me, and always gave me advice when needed. Mean Gene from Freeborn Selections because of his downright knowledge of cannabis. He is basically the encyclopedia of cannabis. Having conversations with him is crazy illuminating. Professor P from Dynasty Genetics. I respect him and his photography skills. Photographing cannabis can be difficult, and he has really mastered it. Beth: Do you have any tips for up-and-coming growers? Jasper: I would recommend finding your niche in the cannabis industry, whether it is working directly with the plants, seed breeding, extraction, or trimming. You need to like what you do because this is a hard, strenuous job, and if you don’t like one aspect, I don’t think you will be fully cut out for the
