From the Founder of RCC Cannabis Navigation
What does it mean to have passion, to have fire, to pursue your dreams, and to not let anything stop you from doing so? For me, it means cannabis. My love and passion for this industry was ignited before it was even “the industry”. I was driven to immerse myself into this beautiful plant, and everything to do with it.
In 2008, I was hospitalized in the ICU. I had no way of knowing at the time that I wouldn’t be walking out of the hospital any time soon. I was there for 6 months, undergoing several dozens of tests, surgeries, and treatments, but for what, I never found out. Through the entire time I was there, there was never a diagnosis of what had made me so ill, just several symptoms. The efforts to diagnose what was happening were miles long, but it all fell short of providing an answer as to what was wrong.
After 6 months of this, my doctors had nowhere left to turn, and they told me to prepare to pass. They gave me the option of passing at the hospital or passing at home. I chose home. At 21 years old, I made the trip home, and began preparations for my passing so that everything would be taken care of for those I loved and was leaving behind. Before my 22nd birthday, I had my affairs in order and everything was in place in my will to ensure a smooth process.
One of the biggest issues I’d been facing was the inability to eat and get nutrition. I was at home resting when one of my friends came over to visit. He said he’d been thinking about me not being able to eat, and had brought a couple of joints. While I’d had cannabis before, I wasn’t a regular smoker at that point, but, what was it really going to hurt at that moment?
That night, for the first time in what felt like forever, I was able to actually eat some saltines and water, and keep it down. In true wonderful cannabis community style, he and several of my friends went all out and made sure I was well supplied. Within 3 months, not only was I not dead, but I was beginning to thrive again. The only thing that changed, the only thing that was added, was cannabis.
I was gaining weight, going outside, rehabbing a tired and medically war-torn body. I was coming back to life when I had gotten so prepared to lose it. I became a daily cannabis user. Not only having given my appetite back, cannabis also eased the pain my body was filled with, and kept in check all of the anxiety and depression that comes with almost losing your life that young.
Cannabis saved my life. I recovered fully from my illness, with no permanent issues or problems. As a celebration, when I was completely healed and recovered, I climbed a 14,000ft mountain called Mount Sherman just outside of Leadville, CO. It was my very first 14’er, and when I got to the top, I sat down and smoked a joint.
It was through this that I decided I wanted to learn everything I could about cannabis, and that I also wanted to dedicate my second chance at life to being a part of ensuring that everyone has legal, and safe access to this incredible plant. I threw myself into whatever research I could find, learning about the plant itself, it’s uses, components, makeup, types, and effects.
I took my research and knowledge into the field with me in 2013 while it was still medical only in Colorado. Recreational became legal in 2014, and the possibilities, information, and resources exploded onto the scene! I started my journey in legal cannabis as a budtender in a tourist heavy part of Denver, and I fell in love with the customers. I was so drawn to their desire to learn more, to find something to help, or just something to enjoy. The amazingly beautiful stories I heard from strangers from across the world altered my view of the lives this plant touches. It is universal.
I went from being a budtender, to being an assistant general manager, and then a general manager. I became an inventory and Metrc specialist after. But I wanted to grow, and what better place to grow than a Cultivation? I left the cannabis retail world to join the realm of Cultivation, and I fell even more in love with this industry.
I began as a trimmer, and became a harvest coordinator from there. After, I moved into a harvest and post harvest manager position where I learned how to dry and cure. This became my favorite art, because a cure can make or break even the best of flower. From here, I moved into a grow technician position, and then moved into a grower position. I became fascinated by the science behind soil, behind the plants, behind making this incredible plant a reality.
From there, I took a left turn, straight into the rules and regulations. I quickly realized that the one thing that was consistent across everything I had done in the industry were the rules and regulations our industry had to abide by. As soon as that connection was made, I wanted to learn everything I could about the rules, the regulations, the requirements, and the drive behind them all to ensure that not only could businesses in the industry continue to operate, but that they could operate at such a high level of integrity that their commitment to following the rules and doing things the right way was never questioned by regulators.
I took on the role of compliance, and developed systems to maintain it at that high level standard. I created training platforms and information, I worked closely with regulators and developed relationships with multiple local jurisdictions and state regulators. I covered several licensing and application processes from lotteries, new licenses, renewals, modifications, changes in ownership, and location changes.
Through all of it, I have learned that there is always a way to do it right and to do it well, and my drive is to work with cannabis businesses across the country who believe that they can also do it right and do it well, where the desire to build a business in this beautiful canna-community is driven by the plant, by the people, and by passion.
“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” —Albert Einstein