Aberdeen — A few months ago, there wasn’t much to Good to Grow — just a few medical marijuana plants, tended by business owner Richard Montoure in a warehouse rented from the Port of Willapa Harbor in Raymond.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “It’s a great deal for me, and it’s their foot in the door for the U.S. market.”
Affinor signed the letter of intent to purchase part of the company May 27, and once the deal is finalized, Montoure will receive the money over six months.
The Good to Grow facility will then receive new wiring, new plumbing, etc., and increase the amount of cannabis produced. He predicts the renovations will cost about $500,000. Montoure said he also plans to equip the large, high-ceilinged warehouse to grow cannabis using vertical farming.
Vertical farming requires less ground area and can also be used to grow other crops, such as tomatoes.
“We’ll be able to fit more plants in here,” Montoure said. “That’s how Affinor does a lot of their growing.”
Montoure currently grows his cannabis plants in “grow boxes” — large, black, tent-like structures lined with reflective, silver material. The boxes, about 4 feet deep, 8 feet long and 7 feet high, are fitted with lights and fans. Each box can fit several plants, each potted individually.
Good to Grow doesn’t have many plants growing right now, as Montoure is working on the business side, particularly the storefront, whose size he hopes to triple in coming months.
The display case currently features 15 strains of cannabis, for sale for $10 per gram. Good to Grow also carries butane hash oil — made by using butane to extract THC from the buds — in addition to “cheeba chew” taffies, edibles, tinctures, balms and bath products.
The vast majority of the stock isn’t produced on-site. Montoure takes what he calls “donations” of products from other collective gardens — although money does change hands for them.
“We want to try and carry a little bit of everything to serve a variety of patients,” he said.
A majority of the cannabis grown at Good to Grow never reaches the business’ storefront — Montoure instead “donates” it to other collective gardens.
Navigating state regulations of the medical marijuana business can be difficult, however. The business isn’t licensed under Initiative 502, passed by voters in 2012. Montoure and his counterparts operate under a 1998 law amended several times by the Legislature.
The definition of “collective gardens” has evolved over the years, from groups of people tending cannabis plants together to larger-scale storefronts. “Right now we’re operating under a sort-of loophole,” Montoure said. “That makes it a little more complicated.”
Following the passage of I-502, the state Liquor Control Board has advocated for changes to the state’s medical marijuana law, and released a recommendation last December that the Legislature eliminate collective gardens. The board also suggested that medical marijuana patients be allowed to purchase products from recreational marijuana stores and pay lower taxes on the products.
However, the measure was never adopted.
Montoure said he doesn’t have a typical customer. The business frequently sees first-time medical marijuana patients who don’t know what to look for, and also has more experienced customers who know the product a little better.
Former patient Max Davis began working for Good to Grow after befriending Montoure, and now works as the collective garden’s “bud tender” — meaning he helps patients determine which products will be most helpful based on their conditions and symptoms.
“Someone who has nerve issues is going to want something different than a cancer patient would,” Davis said.
Montoure said he hopes to hire two more bud tenders after expanding. He already has a stack of job applications.
“I haven’t hired many people yet because the business is still so new,” Montoure said. “But I want to be a job creator for this area.”
Eventually, he hopes to operate a recreational marijuana producing facility, and applied for a license from the Liquor Control Board. He hasn’t been issued one yet, and plans to focus on the medical marijuana business for now.
The city of Raymond and the Port of Willapa Harbor have been friendlier than expected toward his business — and that’s why he started Good to Grow in the small community. He had previously tried to grow medical marijuana in a back room of the contracting company he owned in Shoreline, and later in Snohomish. But he ran into resistance.
