Cultivation time!
There have been plenty of delays with Ohio's medical marijuana program, but Buckeye Relief has been trucking along at their facility in Eastlake, Ohio. For those unaware, Buckeye Relief was granted a level-one large scale provisional license over the summer, and began growing medical marijuana back in late July.
They have been harvesting cannabis for several weeks now, with additional grows already under way. They are hoping that (once granted final approval from the state) to see their cannabis on store shelves in early 2019.
A few members of our team at Ohio Marijuana Card were recently invited to their cultivation center in order to inspect the plants and learn a little more about the cultivation process. We would like to thank Buckeye Relief for their profound insight during this tour. They have a really gorgeous facility, with a dedicated staff ... and some seriously beautiful plants!
From water to weed
Caring for thousands of plants takes thousands of gallons of water in order to feed the plants and keep them as healthy as possible.Cannabis grown at Buckeye Relief is grown from 60% recycled water. This allows Buckeye Relief to reuse water on their plants, help the environment and save money. This also saves Eastlake in overall water usage.
Buckeye Relief uses specialized fertilizers, which aide in the overall health and growth of their medical marijuana. Eventually, they will even mix their own fertilizer!
This fertilizer is carefully mixed with water and dispersed via timer among their grow rooms using the dispersal units pictured. Each mixture is tailored to the type of cannabis being fertilized, so every plant gets the proper nutrients it needs.
Send in the clones!
After hundreds of hours in research, Buckeye Relief settled on growing their cannabis from seed. But now that they have over 100 unique strains of cannabis growing, they can choose favorite strains and clone these plants into a fresh, new cannabis plant. This keeps cannabis growing, so harvests are continual.
Cloning is done by simply making a cutting from the "mother" plant and growing a new plant from this cutting.
Marijuana that's growing like a weed
Cannabis in Buckeye Relief's facility is grown on long cultivation beds in any of their three flowering rooms, and fed water and fertilizer through tubes inserted into the plant's rockwool (aka mineral wool) -- a fiberglass-like material that allows for efficient, clean growth, free of any possible bad bacteria or contamination.
Cannabis plants are pruned of excess leaves in order for the flower (aka buds) to take top priority. The result is thick, hearty buds rich with the chemical compounds that make cannabis a medically beneficial plant.
Harvesting medical marijuana
After Buckeye Relief's cannabis has reached the end of its growth cycle, and buds are rich with THC, CBD and other active chemical compounds, the cannabis is harvested. Stalks are cut, given an initial trim, and cannabis is hung out to dry for several days.
After this process, the cannabis is eventually placed in a special room designed to properly cure reefer to the correct temperature and dryness, preventing mold, fungus or other contamination that might damage the quality of the marijuana, and ensuring a product that will be most effective for a patient.
The cannabis is placed on racks to dry. Buckeye Relief's drying room has well over 1300 plants, with dozens of different strains! Take a look at some of these buds:
Final stages of cannabis cultivation
After the cannabis has been cured, it is ready for a final trim. This process is done so patients only receive cannabis flower when they buy medical marijuana from an Ohio dispensary. There will be no seeds, leaves or unwanted stems with medical marijuana grown in a cultivation facility!
A team of harvesting technicians work around the clock to carefully remove any unwanted plant material from the cannabis buds.
Though the stalks and leaves of cannabis contain trace amounts of THC and CBD, it is not enough to be used as an effective medical marijuana treatment. Any unwanted plant material from the harvest is destroyed, per state rules and regulations.
This trimming process is time-consuming, and takes dozens of dedicated employees in order to complete in a timely fashion. But once this process is completed, medical marijuana moves on to the final steps of the process.
From cultivation to your home
After the cannabis buds have been trimmed, they are very nearly ready to be packaged and shipped to Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries. But first, all cannabis sold in Ohio must be tested by an off-site testing facility. The state requires additional third-party testing to ensure patients are getting the best cannabis the Buckeye State has to offer.
Buckeye Relief is the first cultivation facility to test their product for purity, potency and abnormalities on-site, in addition to the third-party testing. Once this testing phase has completed, cannabis buds are beautiful, fresh and ready to be packaged and shipped to Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries.
Processing and packaging marijuana can be done either in the facility (pending vertical integration approval), or via an off-site processing facility.
Cannabis from Buckeye Relief will feature their BR logo on the packaging. They are expecting to have their cannabis on dispensary shelves as early as mid-January, 2019.
Medical marijuana in Ohio will be sold in "daily doses" which consist of 2.83 grams of cannabis, also referred to as the "Ohio Tenth." A patient is not required to use a tenth every single day, and patients can opt to buy up to a 90-day supply of daily dose "Ohio tenths" in one visit. The Ohio tenth is the daily limit provided by Ohio as guidance to patients, and to avoid black market sales.
.
Stay tuned for future cultivation and dispensary tours as the Ohio medical marijuana industry continues to roll out throughout 2019 and beyond!
Ohio Marijuana Card has launched a brand-new informational podcast where we discuss Ohio medical marijuana news and updates. Give the first episode a watch by clicking here, or view the video below:
Click here to learn more about what Ohio Marijuana Card's state-certified medical marijuana doctors can do for you, or give us a call at 1-866-457-5559 and our friendly support team can walk you through the entire process, and set you up with an appointment.