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This week, Jordan River, host of the GrowCast podcast, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why everyone should grow their own cannabis plant at least once.
Jordan River started using medical cannabis as a teenager to treat grand mal seizures. Cannabis was the only treatment that helped him recover after a seizure, and he realized that it was a stigmatized plant medicine. The experience set him on a path toward a career in the cannabis industry.
In 2010, River moved to Humboldt County when he was 20 years old. His father encouraged him to become a cultivator, and he had some family ties to the industry. He grew medicinal craft cannabis in the gray market for about five years, supplying dispensaries in the Emerald Triangle. He found great pride in seeing patients experience relief using his products.
He started podcasting in 2014 and formally launched the GrowCast podcast in 2015. He has spent the last 10 years becoming a go-to resource for personal and professional growers. River says he became a full-time podcaster to get more people to grow their own cannabis and introduce new people to plant medicine that still has a lot of room for growth.
River is on a personal mission of "overgrow" to get as many people to grow their own cannabis as possible. He says, "If everyone who wanted to grow did grow, there would be enough for everyone to go around."
The bottom line for River is that cannabis is used for a wide variety of purposes and treatments, and it is so benign when it comes to its side effects that, if the goal is harm reduction, there aren't many medicines out there with as few side effects — and as few consequences from high doses — as cannabis.
Still, he believes medical market regulations are often too restrictive, and the industry needs to improve patient accessibility to the plant. He also knows that the entry of "big cannabis" into the market poses a substantial threat to the industry, particularly home growers. He stresses the importance of industry operators refraining from putting profits over people and the plant.
Jump around:
- The fading differentiation between medical and recreational cannabis. (3:59)
- Coffee vs. cannabis. (7:30)
- Why we need better home grow laws that allow higher plant counts. (8:46)
- Growing craft cannabis in Humboldt County. (13:59)
- Why everyone in the industry should grow their own plant at least once. (16:22)
- Why "big cannabis" is one the biggest threats to the industry. (19:39)
- The greatest challenges facing the home grow industry. (26:01)
- Why he started the GrowCast podcast. (32:00)
- The seeds vs. clones debate. (39:46)
- Philosophical struggles over patenting a plant. (43:50)
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