the SEED TO SALE issue
PLANT PEOPLE LOS ANGELES, CA
Compliance Officer CANBY, OR
Grower
MAX WHITE | AROMA CANNABIS DIRECTOR OF CULTIVATION AND CO-FOUNDER
You were previously a vital part of the operation at House of Cultivar in Seattle, then you moved to California for a new role. What does a Compliance Officer do? I see that all our actions
How long have you been cultivating Cannabis?
How would you describe your approach to Cannabis cultivation at Aroma? How does it differ from other growing experiences you had in the past?
Having to deal with said governing body for Cannabis, what do you do to make your job enjoyable? It is great going back to a facility and see-
At the age of 12, I suffered an eye injury leaving me blind and with a condition ironically called chronic glaucoma. I became a medical marijuana patient in 1999 at the age of 16-years-old and immediately began growing for myself and other patients. I’m the ripe age of 37 today and there hasn’t been a year in which I wasn’t cultivating Cannabis.
When I started in the good ol’ Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) days, it was a vastly different arena. Prices were double or more what they are today. I had one employee - me. I didn’t have to pay attention to operating costs or budgets because let’s face it, the margins were glorious. I only had up to 48 plants at one time, so I could give the ladies names if I liked. As far as techniques and grow styles, I did it all growing up. I grew in outdoor fields, greenhouses, attics, basements, warehouses. The first grow I ever did was in the corner of our family room growing up. At 16-years-old, my dad helped me build an 8x8 plywood box. I threw a 1000watt China hat fixture in there and torched my crop - learned and moved on. Today I find myself behind a computer screen a lot more. With my team, we watch numbers and data constantly. We prepare budgets and projections. The recreational market was a tough start. It has been a crash course in running a business as efficiently as possible. Naturally with scaling up into a more commercial approach, some of the personal intimate touches do not pencil in any longer, but I can say quality is still the main focus.
What is the most challenging part of running a Cannabis cultivation facility?
aklEAF.COM
Interview by Mike Ricker @RickerDJ
are tracked and traced from seed to production to nursery to manufacturing, distribution and retail. If that’s tough to stomach, an easier way to explain it is I’m a detail coordinator for compliant actions within the facility. Basically, what the Bureau of Cannabis Control wants is someone who is there to avoid product diversion and ensure product safety.
Interview by Tom Bowers @PropagateConsultants
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ARAKSI VARTANIAN
Learning to run a business. Whether you are selling kind nugs, shoes, cars or cheeseburgers, it’s all the same in regard to running a business. I don’t have any formal business education or degree. I was a simple Oregon dope grower with a drive to succeed. Learning to work with governing agencies, the county permitting process and the tax man has taken some practice - but a good challenge is always healthy and rewarding.
What advice do you have for cultivators (professional and amateur)?
Be open to learning more than one way of doing things. Ask a lot of questions from a wide circle of professionals. If you can, join community groups or volunteer in a field of desired expertise. Become a good networker! I love the phrase “your network is your net worth” because it is absolutely true. Today, when I don’t know the answer, I do know somebody that does. And they are happy to share that knowledge with me, as I am happy sharing with somebody else in need.
MAY 2020
ing that the company is taking the appropriate measures that I incorporated. The fact is that people generally do what they want, but there are fiery hoops to jump through, so it makes my job enjoyable to see this function from the black market to a compliant market.
Where do you see the regulatory aspect of Cannabis heading? The biggest issue right now we
need to get resolved is banking. We have no banking in California. Other states have implemented financial security for the industry, but unless we go with some crazy, random Russian bank, we’re hung out to dry. We make a lot of money for the state and they need to take care of us. We are really scrutinized and our money is just as good as someone who is not playing the game as well, but they are a federally legal industry like insurance or liquor.
What is your preferred way to wind down after spending your day as the last line of defense against the pot police? (Giggles) I love going for a walk with the dogs, smoking a joint, and taking a good minute to appreciate where I am in life and that I’m a part on this revolution, because this is a time in history that is never going to happen again. This makes me want to go to work the next day.
