CLEARLAKE— Thursday marked the last Judge’s Breakfast forum for the month concluding with a cannabis panel featuring guest speaker Chris Jennings, owner of Lakeside Herbal Solutions in Clearlake and South Lake Farms in Lower Lake. Being both a farmer and dispensary owner, Jenning’s presentation covered the cannabis supply chain from seed through sale, illustrating its many flaws along the way.
As with any other commodity, the cannabis supply chain begins in the field with sun grown cannabis being the most common, followed by mixed-light and indoor grows, although that is on the precipice of change as consumers shift demand to “designer cannabis” fueled by marketing and social media trends. Starting with the proper cultivation permits, the cannabis farmer has to build their farm from the ground up creating the infrastructure to operate and following all proper regulations in doing so, resulting in “Cannabis farmers basically becoming developers” according to Jennings.
Once the flower is grown and harvested is where it starts to get complicated, as the need to dry, cure, and trim the final product is urgent, but requires a processing permit to complete. Then if a grower/farmer needs to transport or store any product, he/she needs a distribution permit, leaving many farmers scrambling to properly finish the process. Next in preparing the final flower product for distribution, the farmer has to test said product and pay the assigned taxes, which breaks down to about $180 per pound. With market rates at an all-time low, a farmer may currently get around $300 per pound, leaving a profit of only $120 without taking into account all of their overhead expenses.
Jennings elaborated on the market fluctuation stating: “It all changed not in a couple years but overnight, where we all just kinda got hit with this and I think it’s kind of a collective greed amongst us all.” Jennings added that not only is there lots of legal competition but also competition from unpermitted farms and hemp farms that have been cultivating cannabis through legal loopholes.
From a sales perspective, Jennings was a bit more optimistic explaining how average traffic is over 100 transactions per day, with the store making $3 million in sales last year. Jennings further discussed the dispensary experience inside the store and what someone coming in to purchase cannabis products can expect, including how much product they can legally purchase in one day. Jennings further explained how items of convenience, like pre-rolls and edibles, sell best and that their main customer base is over the age of 55.
Despite the store’s success Jennings is exploring the idea of selling the store and moving out of state where he would be better prepared for federal legalization, a move many have already made as operating costs rise in California and are much more manageable in other states like Oklahoma or New York. Jennings said, “I see an exodus of indoor growers leaving California because of the electrical prices. He said comparatively what a grower pays $10,000 per month here is like 800 bucks elsewhere.
Federal legalization was cause for concern for local residents who wonder what the future of cannabis is after corporations like Philip Morris move in. Jennings said, “It will come down to who can grow the most for the cheapest.” He further explained how just like there are small batch craft beer makers that uphold quality over quantity, there will always be small batch craft cannabis farmers that do the same.
The Judge’s Breakfast is held every Thursday at 7 a.m. at the Clearlake Senior Center. The cost of breakfast is $15 and more information can be found on their Facebook page.
