Vermont News & Media, partners launch GreenMountain Cannabis News | Local News
Vermont News & Media and Craft State Media, with support from three sponsors, are launching a new website and newsletter, GreenMountain Cannabis News, for keeping up with Vermont’s cannabis industry. To sign up or see content, visit greenmountaincannabisnews.com.
Jordan Brechenser, publisher at VNM, sees Vermont as a standout state.
“I think it’s because Vermont is really known for its passion in what it does and what it produces,” he said.
Brechenser said VNM has kept its “finger on the pulse” of the industry since Vermont legalized cannabis and dispensaries began opening throughout the region, following the Cannabis Control Board’s direction and guidelines on how the stores can advertise. He expects the new media offering to serve as a statewide platform for novices in the cannabis trade, a place for businesses and consumers/enthusiasts to share ideas, and the CCB to have a voice to talk about regulation and related issues.
Readers can expect a weekly newsletter every Wednesday at 4:20 p.m. with headlined news from that week along with video content from Craft State Media and profiles of people within the industry. Brechenser said topics could include growers with a longstanding history of cultivation in Vermont, CCB guidelines, and new strains, products and budtenders.
Sponsors will be asked to submit content, and the website includes videos produced by Craft State Media and archival news from as long as cannabis has been covered at VNM.
The newsletter and web site will also have content contribution around health and wellness from Bridget Conry of High Fidelity in Burlington (https://hifivt.com/).
Stephen Wiesmore and Jeff Diehl started their company after declaring Vermont “a craft state.” Initially, they intended to delve into all the crafts but got stuck in cannabis.
“It’s one of those weird deals where it just captivated us,” Wiesmore said, “because it’s such an incredible, thriving new industry for a state that doesn’t have a lot of new things happening, especially in the economy.”
Craft State Media has been filming videos, giving a voice to those behind the new brands and stores in the cannabis industry.
“So first hand we’re seeing families’, people’s lives turned upside down within a year’s time by getting a license,” Wiesmore said. “We just have this wealth of great growers, people who have been doing it for years and years and years, legacy growers, ones who pivoted, really capitalized on it quickly.”
Wiesmore said he and Diehl want to help ensure the health of the industry in Vermont is sustained, having seen other states being “taken over by some major, multistate operators who just look at them as a cash cow.”
“Vermont is too small of a state for something like that to happen and we have too much knowledge for something like that to happen,” Wiesmore said. “We realized if we weren’t good advocates for what we wanted to cover, it could easily slip out of the state’s hands quickly.”
Colleen McQuade, owner of Juniper Lane Cannabis in Bennington, used to sell glass pipes wholesale to stores then got involved in the medical cannabis industry. A couple of years ago, she realized she could run her own dispensary.
“So I worked really, really hard and I got Juniper Lane open,” she said. “We’re doing great. Everything’s great. I love the store. The store’s going well. The whole market and cannabis community in Vermont has been amazing to be part of.”
McQuade also chairs the Cannabis Retail Association of Vermont. She said the group is trying to make the retail environment thrive.
Juniper Lane recently received a license for cultivation. The group will open a new site for the project.
McQuade said she became involved with GreenMountain to “further create cannabis community and cannabis education, and really bring that to more people.” She also sees the newsletter and site as a way to help destigmatize cannabis and make it more acceptable.
Advertising rules and banking regulations are issues she’s tackling with her store and the association. She’d also like for people to learn about different types of cultivation.
Karen Devereux, co-owner of Kingdom Kind, and her family had been involved with hemp since they started Northeast Kingdom Hemp in 2017. She said she believes her business was the first in Vermont to be licensed as a cultivator, manufacturer and retailer when approved last year.
“We call it the cannabis triple crown,” she said. “We’re super small.”
Her husband grows hemp and cannabis sold at Kingdom Kind in Barton in the Northeast Kingdom. One son runs the manufacturing side of things and lab, and another will join the family business when he turns 21 soon.
Devereux said the family makes a full line of THC and CBD products to fill the store.
Her husband is always creating new strains of cannabis. He had grown for years, for recreational purposes and to help with sleep, before the legal market was created in Vermont.
“It’s pretty exciting for him to actually come out of the closet and let people know what he’s good at and grow it for other people, and he gets to stay home,” Devereux said.
Before the family broke into business on their own, her husband worked as a welder. He would end up traveling to Massachusetts and New York for jobs.
Her family has been working with Diehl for a few years now. He made a video for Northeast Kingdom Hemp.
“He knows us pretty well — that’s how I heard about this opportunity,” Devereux said of GreenMountain.
Devereux noted the challenge of operating in a more rural area, where customers are fewer than more populous places. She said her “great team” will treat every customer like a VIP.
Scott Sparks started Vermont Hempicurean in downtown Brattleboro in 2018, with plans to run an adult-use or recreational cannabis dispensary. He said he had hoped cannabis laws would change earlier than they did.
“I started with CBD because that was what was available,” he said.
He later began selling grow supplies in the original location and then moved to West Brattleboro to expand his business. When cannabis sales became legal and he planned to get a license, he opened Vermont Grow Barn.
In October, Sparks opened Vermont Bud Barn, the first cannabis store in southern Vermont.
“It’s been, I would say, six years in the making,” he said.
Next, his team is starting a small indoor grow operation. They plan to develop a house brand and possibly some strains that will be available only through his business.
They’re putting in a viewing window so customers can come and watch the plants grow. Sparks also intends on setting up a webcam so people can watch from home then come to the store and make purchases.
“Further down the road, if and when the state ever allows cannabis cafes, I would love to open a cannabis cafe somewhere there on the same campus,” he said.
At the time of the interview, Sparks was in Oregon. He visited some cannabis stores to see how they’re doing.
“In Vermont, we allow 5 milligrams of THC in a beverage or gummy. Here that number is 100,” he said.
With GreenMountain, his hope is to attract those who are interested in cannabis. Having a cannabis-specific publication is “a great opportunity for people to get their information in one place and just see what resources and retail options are available,” he said. He also likes the idea of introducing growers and techniques.
Advertising, Sparks said, “is absolutely an issue.” He’s extremely restricted with what he can post on Facebook and Instagram.
“They banned me from ever giving them money in any form, so that’s problematic,” he said.
Ahmad Yassir, marketing specialist at Vermont News and Media, will play a pivotal role in orchestrating the back-end operations of the website, establishing the brand identity of the new publication, curating the newsletter and overseeing the creation of promotional assets. With a firm belief in the transformative potential of the cannabis industry, he said he aims “to forge collaborations with individuals from all corners of Vermont, striving to amplify the state’s presence and impact.”
“I recognize the utmost importance of ensuring that every member of our community feels their voice is valued and heard,” he said. “As a news publication, it is our fundamental commitment to foster a collaborative environment where everyone involved can actively participate.”
Yassir said he strives to create a platform encouraging open dialogue, embracing diverse perspectives, and actively engaging with the community, “as we firmly believe that collective collaboration leads to meaningful and impactful outcomes.”
GreenMountain Vermont Cannabis News invites you to sign up for their free weekly newsletter by going to greenmountaincannabisnews.com and entering your email and date of birth (must be 21 years or older). The first edition and website launch will take place today, Wednesday, July 5, at 4:20pm.
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