A local news station recently gave viewers a glimpse into a medical marijuana growth facility, and it offered yet more evidence of the safe, pure medicine that is available to those who get an Ohio Marijuana Card.
WLWT, Cincinnati’s NBC affiliate, recently visited a major medical marijuana cultivation facility in Yellow Springs that is operated by Chicago-based Cresco Labs, and the resulting story was yet another reminder that when we help suffering patients find relief, we all benefit.
Medical Marijuana Facility Houses a “Jungle” of Medicine for Ohio Patients
WLWT described Cresco’s facility as “more like a jungle fit for the Amazon than the fields of Yellow Springs.” The operation houses hundreds of cannabis plants of all types and strains, growing beneath fluorescent lighting.
It’s the kind of large-scale operation one would expect from Cresco, which runs growing facilities in nine states and more than fifty dispensaries across seven states.
While Cresco is of course motivated by profit, they still serve the public goos, and Rachel Fay, an Ohio University alumnus who serves as the facility’s Director of Cultivation, told WLWT that she joined the company to help her fellow Buckeyes.
“The medical program in Ohio was getting started and I just really wanted to dive in and see what I could do to help provide medicine for patients in Ohio,” Fay said.
Cleanliness is of Utmost Importance in Medical Marijuana Cultivation
For those still operating under misconceptions stemming from outdated, anti-marijuana biases, cannabis can still be associated with the shady world of street drugs, where the source and purity of medical marijuana is replaced by the dangerous world of mystery medicine.
But WLWT reports that their tour of Cresco’s Yellow Springs facility demonstrates just how seriously medical marijuana providers take cleanliness and medical purity. In fact, the station reports that their visit showed that “from start to finish (Cresco Labs) believe in near surgical cleanliness.”
“I think a lot of people have preconceived notions about (medical marijuana),” Fay said, “but then they come into a place like this. It looks a lot like a farm… It's a different pharmaceutical what we're doing here.”
That devotion to cleanliness continues once the hundreds of cannabis plants are harvested. After months of being given precise amounts of light, the plants are clipped at full bloom and sent to labs elsewhere in the facility. There Cresco employees extract oils that are then sent to the facility’s kitchen, where Cresco mixes and packs all of the medications produced in its Yellow Springs plant.
“It's not something that you're just getting off the street,” Kitchen Production Manager Michael Mount told WLWT. “It's something that's produced in a kitchen. There's formulation to it and then it goes out for testing, so you know exactly what is in it,” kitchen production manager Michael Mount said.
Beyond Medicinal Purity, Company Dedicated to Expanding Medical Marijuana Product Offerings
While Cresco’s primary mission is to profitably provide safe, pure medicine for Ohio cannabis patients, they’re also constantly listening to feedback from those patients so that Cresco can offer them the kinds of products they’re demanding.
“We've heard our customers (and) we know they want chocolates. We know they want sweet tart tablets, and we know that they want different gummies that will hit on different formulation specifications that they're looking for,” Vice-President of Product Development Stephanie Gorecki told WLWT.
WLWT reports that Gorecki is also a scientist, and that she noted that while the company strives to provide the products that are in demand among Ohio cannabis patients, their primary mission is to ensure they are using science to provide safe and effective medicines.
“This is a very highly scientific field all the way from cultivation, extraction, to edibles formulation,” Gorecki said.
Medical Marijuana Means Big Business for Cultivators and Ohio
The result of the kind of stringent purity Ohio’s medical marijuana law demands of cultivation facilities like Cresco’s is a booming cannabis market here. That means big money for companies like Cresco, but it also means massive tax revenues and jobs for Ohio.
WLWT reports that in the first six months of Ohio’s medical marijuana program (January 16, 2019, to July 15, 2019), sales topped $14.5 million dollars. Fast forward to the the last six months (November 15, 2021, to May 16, 2022) and that number has grown more than sixteen times to nearly $228 million. The total sales generated since the program’s inception comes in at $837 million.
With that much money on the line, and competition among thirty-seven licensed Ohio cultivators, it’s easy to see why Cresco is so detail-oriented in the production of their medicine, and why they keep developing new products.
Still, Fay reminded WLWT that the profits aren’t the real reason to support medical marijuana.
“I think the message is just that, cannabis is really helping a lot of people in the state right now,” Fay said. “It's a really exciting thing to be a part of.”
Medical Marijuana is “a Really Exciting Thing to be a Part of,” so Why not be a Part of it?
With seventy new dispensaries on the way and cultivators like Cresco working diligently to bring patients safe medicine and the newest products, there has never been a better time to get an Ohio Marijuana Card than right now!
Reserve an evaluation online today, and we’ll book an appointment for you with one of our caring, knowledgeable doctors. You and your new doctor will discuss your conditions and your eligibility for an Ohio Marijuana Card. If you qualify, we’ll do all of the hard work of registering with the state for you, meaning all you have to do is enjoy your newfound relief and wellbeing!
Doctors Who Care.
Relief You Can Trust.
Here at Ohio Marijuana Card, our goal is to help everyone achieve wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana. Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce the stigma for our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
If you have any questions, call us at (866) 457-5559, or simply book a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust today!
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