Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Row after row of marijuana plants grow indoors under bright lights and constant 75-degree temperature. Nutrients are piped into the plants through a computer-controlled watering device. Workers in full body suits wearing hairnets and surgical masks fill vials with marijuana oil.
"It's an interesting hybrid of agriculture and laboratory," said Brandon Pollock, chief executive officer of Theory Wellness, a medical marijuana company in Bridgewater.
Theory Wellness, which opened its doors in July, has an indoor marijuana growing facility and a retail dispensary in one 12,000 square foot building in Bridgewater. It plans to open a second dispensary in Great Barrington in September.
The company currently produces medical marijuana, but it hopes to move into selling recreational marijuana once the regulations are put in place and retail pot shops are allowed to open next summer.
"We believe in cannabis as a wellness product," Pollock said.
What does it take to grow medical marijuana in Massachusetts? Our tour of the facility walks through the steps below.
Purity
To avoid contaminating the plants, all employees must wear special full-body suits that they don before entering the growing facility.
Anyone entering the space must exchange their shoes for a pair of Crocs, then step into a basin with a solution that cleans off the bottom of the shoes.
Even visitors have to suit up
Gloves, a hairnet and a surgical mask complete the outfit. Anyone entering the facility must then step into an air shower, where they are blown with air for a few seconds to get rid of any contaminants. Visitors are not exempt from the requirements – the photo above shows what I wore during my tour of the facility.
Air conditioning
The temperature and humidity inside the facility must remain tightly controlled. Massachusetts summers are too hot and humid for the marijuana plants to grow, and using outside air runs the risk of bringing in contaminants. Special air conditioning units using chilled liquid run year round.
Vegetative room
It takes four to five months for a marijuana plant to grow from seed to product.
For the first three weeks, the plants begin to grow in a nursery. Seeds are used once. Then, clippings are taken from grown specimens to grow new plants.
Theory Wellness grows 20 varieties of plants, which produce different types of cannabis products.
Young marijuana plants
The plants grow under bright lights, which are kept on in the nursery for 18 hours a day to mimic the spring season. The temperature is kept at a constant 75 degrees. The air has three times more carbon dioxide than the air outdoors, since the plants consume a lot of carbon dioxide. The grow rooms are airtight.
Watering
A computer-controlled watering system with a variety of nutrients ensures that each plant gets the nutrition it needs.
Flower room
After three weeks, the plants are moved to the flower room, where the lights are even more intense and the smell is stronger. These lights are on 12 hours a day, with the room in pitch blackness the other 12 hours to mimic late summer or early fall. The hormonal changes in the plants cause them to flower.
The plants are in this room for nine to 12 weeks.
Growing marijuana plants
The flowers, or buds, are the parts of the plant that are harvested.
Coconut husk base
The plants grow in a material consisting of of shaved coconut husks. Soil is not used because it contains heavy metals, which can contaminate the marijuana.
Extraction
After the plants are mature, the buds are harvested. The marijuana is cured, or kept in airtight containers for one to two months, to get to top quality. The oil is extracted with a machine that uses highly pressurized carbon dioxide.
Oil is made
A vacuum oven gets the water out of the oil.
'Jack the Ripper' marijuana extract
Oil extract from a marijuana plant is frozen.
Workers fill vaporizer cartridges
There are 44 employees in the facility, 30 of whom work in production.
Testing
Massachusetts has strict standards and requires testing of marijuana for mold, yeast, heavy metals and pesticides.
The dispensary
Once the products are ready, they go to the dispensary, where they are sold to patients.
Retail operations
The dispensary gets around 100 customers a day.
Products on display
It offers multiples strains of marijuana, as well as marijuana extracts, and products like marijuana-infused cookies, gummies and pills.
Security
The building has strict security.
There are around 60 security cameras placed throughout the facility. Each plant has a bar code on it, so it can be tracked from seed to sale.
To enter the dispensary, a person must show their patient identification card, and an employee checks state records to make sure the patient has a current prescription, and they have not yet filled it at another dispensary.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: What does it take to grow marijuana in Massachusetts? | masslive.com
Author: Shira Schoenberg
Contact: Contact Us - MassLive Media Solutions
Photo Credit: Getty
Website: Massachusetts Local News, Breaking News, Sports and Weather - MassLive.com
"It's an interesting hybrid of agriculture and laboratory," said Brandon Pollock, chief executive officer of Theory Wellness, a medical marijuana company in Bridgewater.
Theory Wellness, which opened its doors in July, has an indoor marijuana growing facility and a retail dispensary in one 12,000 square foot building in Bridgewater. It plans to open a second dispensary in Great Barrington in September.
The company currently produces medical marijuana, but it hopes to move into selling recreational marijuana once the regulations are put in place and retail pot shops are allowed to open next summer.
"We believe in cannabis as a wellness product," Pollock said.
What does it take to grow medical marijuana in Massachusetts? Our tour of the facility walks through the steps below.
Purity
To avoid contaminating the plants, all employees must wear special full-body suits that they don before entering the growing facility.
Anyone entering the space must exchange their shoes for a pair of Crocs, then step into a basin with a solution that cleans off the bottom of the shoes.
Even visitors have to suit up
Gloves, a hairnet and a surgical mask complete the outfit. Anyone entering the facility must then step into an air shower, where they are blown with air for a few seconds to get rid of any contaminants. Visitors are not exempt from the requirements – the photo above shows what I wore during my tour of the facility.
Air conditioning
The temperature and humidity inside the facility must remain tightly controlled. Massachusetts summers are too hot and humid for the marijuana plants to grow, and using outside air runs the risk of bringing in contaminants. Special air conditioning units using chilled liquid run year round.
Vegetative room
It takes four to five months for a marijuana plant to grow from seed to product.
For the first three weeks, the plants begin to grow in a nursery. Seeds are used once. Then, clippings are taken from grown specimens to grow new plants.
Theory Wellness grows 20 varieties of plants, which produce different types of cannabis products.
Young marijuana plants
The plants grow under bright lights, which are kept on in the nursery for 18 hours a day to mimic the spring season. The temperature is kept at a constant 75 degrees. The air has three times more carbon dioxide than the air outdoors, since the plants consume a lot of carbon dioxide. The grow rooms are airtight.
Watering
A computer-controlled watering system with a variety of nutrients ensures that each plant gets the nutrition it needs.
Flower room
After three weeks, the plants are moved to the flower room, where the lights are even more intense and the smell is stronger. These lights are on 12 hours a day, with the room in pitch blackness the other 12 hours to mimic late summer or early fall. The hormonal changes in the plants cause them to flower.
The plants are in this room for nine to 12 weeks.
Growing marijuana plants
The flowers, or buds, are the parts of the plant that are harvested.
Coconut husk base
The plants grow in a material consisting of of shaved coconut husks. Soil is not used because it contains heavy metals, which can contaminate the marijuana.
Extraction
After the plants are mature, the buds are harvested. The marijuana is cured, or kept in airtight containers for one to two months, to get to top quality. The oil is extracted with a machine that uses highly pressurized carbon dioxide.
Oil is made
A vacuum oven gets the water out of the oil.
'Jack the Ripper' marijuana extract
Oil extract from a marijuana plant is frozen.
Workers fill vaporizer cartridges
There are 44 employees in the facility, 30 of whom work in production.
Testing
Massachusetts has strict standards and requires testing of marijuana for mold, yeast, heavy metals and pesticides.
The dispensary
Once the products are ready, they go to the dispensary, where they are sold to patients.
Retail operations
The dispensary gets around 100 customers a day.
Products on display
It offers multiples strains of marijuana, as well as marijuana extracts, and products like marijuana-infused cookies, gummies and pills.
Security
The building has strict security.
There are around 60 security cameras placed throughout the facility. Each plant has a bar code on it, so it can be tracked from seed to sale.
To enter the dispensary, a person must show their patient identification card, and an employee checks state records to make sure the patient has a current prescription, and they have not yet filled it at another dispensary.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: What does it take to grow marijuana in Massachusetts? | masslive.com
Author: Shira Schoenberg
Contact: Contact Us - MassLive Media Solutions
Photo Credit: Getty
Website: Massachusetts Local News, Breaking News, Sports and Weather - MassLive.com
