When and where did Honest Marijuana start?
Honest Marijuana started in 2015, a few years after recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado. I immediately saw the need for a top-quality organic alternative to the lower-quality marijuana that was being rushed to market at that time. That’s why and how Honest Marijuana got its name.
We chose the Steamboat Springs area because it embodies everything I love about this state—free-flowing rivers and streams, unspoiled meadows, breathtaking mountain views, and a strong sense of ecological responsibility.
What is the mission for Honest Marijuana?
Our mission—our vision, if you will—is posted right on the front page of our website: We strive to provide consumers with the purest marijuana experience on the planet. We do this by using world-class organic growing method, by pioneering the science of marijuana preservation and freshness, and by leading the way in developing innovative consumption methods.
Because that vision guides us in everything we do, we grow all our marijuana in 100% all-organic soil. We hand water and hand trim all of our plants and we never use pesticides, chemical, or growth regulators. This means that we can produce the cleanest, purest, most uncontaminated marijuana possible. What does that mean for our consumers? It means they get to experience the true nature of what the marijuana plant has to offer without anything getting in the way.
HM is all about organic, does that make it harder or easier to produce your product?
I don’t know that I would classify organic as easier or more difficult…it’s just different. If I had to choose an adjective to describe it, I’d probably choose vigilant or involved. We have to compost our own organic soil, mix our own all-natural fertilizer, maintain a consistent temperature and humidity, hand water each and every plant, and inspect the plants for damage and disease. Basically, we have to keep our eyes open for techniques and components that aren’t completely natural. But, really, once you get used to the steps required to produce organic marijuana, it’s not that much more involved than non-organic production.That said, we think all that extra vigilance is worth it…and we’re sure you’ll be able to taste the difference. There’s nothing like 100% natural, organically-grown marijuana anywhere on the planet. And you don’t have to travel to some exotic location to experience it (unless you think of Colorado as exotic).
Are you expanding to more than only Colorado?
If you’re asking whether we will be expanding into other states in the next few months, the answer is no. Even though many states have legalized medicinal and recreational marijuana, the federal government still views it as illegal. That makes shipping and transport from state to state extremely difficult. For example, we can’t ship our product to Montana via truck or car because it would have to be driven through a state (Wyoming) where the transport of that product is illegal. Similarly, we can’t ship it via the regular shipping companies because federal hazardous materials laws still prohibit marijuana movement between states.
If you’re asking whether we have plans at the ready for immediate expansion to other states should the federal laws change, the answer is a resounding yes. We’ve already started reaching out to dispensaries around the country, building relationships, and planting seeds (no pun intended) that we’ll nurture to maturity once marijuana is legal from coast to coast.
How many strains do you have?
Right now, we cultivate thirteen strains including:
- Sour Diesel
- Blue Dream
- Chem Dog
- Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies
- Fruity Pebbles
- Kandy Kush
- Cherry OG
- Alien Yoda OG
- Black Gorilla
- Black Dog Kush
- Dutch Cheese
- Golden Berry
- Golden Lemons
These strains range from sativa to indica to hybrid and were chosen for their flavors and the effects they produce. We have flavors that range from pungent and earthy to sweet and berry. We have effects that range from euphoric and uplifting to relaxed and happy to cerebral. As our operation expands, we have plans to add more strains for even more medicinal and recreational uses.
What are Honest Blunts?
Honest Blunts are the world’s first organic, hemp-wrapped, whole-flower, machine-rolled blunts. Yeah, I know, that’s a lot of hyphens. But what it boils down to is that Honest Blunts provide the highest quality cannabis and the most consistent smoking experience available on the market today. Sound like a bold claim? It is! But we’re ready to stand behind each and every Honest Blunt we sell. What gives us so much confidence? We grow every piece of the Honest Blunt—from seed to sealed product—and we know everything that goes into our blunts…and everything that doesn’t. Honest Blunts are 100% tobacco free and only use the best organic marijuana that our many years of experience and know-how can grow. And we don’t just stop there. While other companies taint the experience by using cheap cigar paper as a wrapper, we take the high road (pun definitely intended). We use organic-processed hemp leaf to keep our blunts contained. That means that an Honest Blunt is completely cannabis.
Do you hand roll the Honest Blunts?
Nope. We’ve automated the process. Honest Blunts are now rolled by a machine. That allows us to ensure that every Honest Blunt lives up to our exacting standards. And really, it’s not about who or what rolls the blunts. It’s about what they’re made of. We use only the best bud and the best organic-processed hemp-leaf wrappers to build our blunts. Nothing cheap and no fillers. That’s not the Honest Marijuana way. It reminds me of the legend that the best Cuban cigars were hand-rolled on the thighs of virgins. What does that do? Absolutely nothing. The hand-rolled angle was just a way to make that particular cigar stand out. It didn’t contribute to the quality or the taste. What was inside did that. I’ll put our machine-rolled Honest Blunts up against any hand-rolled blunt out there, and I’ll guarantee that “hand rolling” won’t make a lick of difference in the quality, the taste, or the experience.
Are your concentrates the healthiest concentrates on the market?
It’s hard to gauge the “healthiness” of any concentrate product. It’s like asking, “Is Colombian coffee healthier than Ethiopian coffee?” Uhhh…let me get back to you on that one. A better metric might be “purity”. Ask me if our cannabis concentrates are the purest concentrates on the market, and I can honestly answer that they’re right up there. I can say that with confidence because we use multiple scientific extraction methods to remove the trichomes from the plant matter. This eliminates the residual chemicals left behind after the solvent evaporates off. And the lack of residual chemicals means that you’re getting only the purest form of the marijuana concentrate.
“When you think of Honest Marijuana, think zero waste.” What do you mean by this?
We extend our all-natural philosophy beyond just our growing medium and special fertilizers to influence everything we do…including our goals of zero waste and zero impact on the environment. We’re always working to improve these goals, but here are some of the ways we’re working for zero waste right now.
- We use highly efficient LEC lighting, which ensures a 30% lower power draw on the community’s resources. Currently, we are investigating solar power to even further reduce our electricity use.
- Honest Marijuana utilizes the town water supply at a rate of close to 220 gallons per day.
- A water meter tracks our usage exactly. By implementing a method called “Top Feeding” we ensure that 5% or less water is wasted in our facility. Our high-quality sediment filter keeps sediment, chlorine, and other harmful elements detrimental to our process, out of our water supply — and out of the town’s sewage system.
Approximately 11.25 gallons of wastewater enter the town sewage system per day. - All of the products used at Honest Marijuana are approved by the Organic Materials Review Institute and have been approved for organic production even in federal level food processes.
- All waste — stems, fan leaves, and extraction surplus — is confined to plant waste. We do our best to compost this material so little waste actually gets thrown away.
- Honest Marijuana uses only OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) listed soil — approximately 250 cubic feet monthly. Once crops are harvested, this soil is transferred to a local landscape company to compost and reuse for landscaping purposes.
- Our water chilled climate control system uses 30% less electricity than a standard HVAC system. Additionally, the system grabs wasted power and feeds it back into the system to be reused, resulting in an additional 10% energy savings. When the external ambient temperature is below 45 degrees, our system is able to utilize the outside air and convert it into another 60—70% energy savings. The chiller/compressor units are installed on the roof to mitigate noise at the ground level. This is as loud as a large residential A/C unit.
- All plants are air dried. We use an oven to create wax and hash, but any hexane and butane (bho) is recycled for a minimal impact on the atmosphere.
- All of our fertilizers are USDA approved organic.
- All of our nutrients are guaranteed organic — certified by OMRI that they do not contain any synthetic ingredients.
How many people work at HM?
Right now, we have ten people working full time at Honest Marijuana but we plan to add staff as our operation expands.
Is HM going to get into the edible game?
We’re always looking to the future here at Honest Marijuana, so we have plans for everything you can imagine. We’ve brainstormed about products, processes, preservation, packaging, distribution…the whole nine yards. Whether we act on those plans is another thing entirely. The marijuana edibles market is a bit different than the smokables and concentrate market. There are so many more questions that have to be considered when creating edibles. Questions like, “What goes into producing the ingredients we use? Are those methods organic? What is the quality of those ingredients? What are the logistics of getting the ingredients to our facility? Then what about the actual cooking process?” The list of questions literally goes on and on. Again, that’s not to say that we don’t have a plan in place to get into the edible game, as you put it. But right now, we don’t have the intention of pulling the trigger and bringing that plan to reality.
What’s Colorado been like since legalization?
It’s been really great! Our legislators have really taken the people’s will to heart and embraced the nascent marijuana market with both arms. Those same legislators have crafted, what I feel, are some pretty fair laws considering none of this even existed five years ago. State-level enforcement has been pretty consistent too. The whole system is a great model for what can, and should, happen on a national level once the federal government legalizes cannabis. I think it helps that lawmakers, police, first-responders, and the like have experienced the benefits of the cannabis industry—increased tax revenue—without all the chaos that was predicted—marijuana enthusiasts running rampant through the streets—when Amendment 64 was first passed. Again, Colorado has been a great model for what to do right. I hope other states follow our lead and I hope the federal government doesn’t turn a blind eye to the myriad benefits that legalized marijuana has produced.
How does someone get in touch with HM?
On the web, you can visit our website HonestMarijuana.com or check us out on Instagram at @honestmarijuanaco or on Facebook. If you need a more direct line to the Honest Marijuana Company, you can email us at info@honestmarijuana.com or call us directly at 1-888-434-3183. You can also purchase Honest Marijuana products at dispensaries across the state of of Colorado. We love hearing from our customers and fans so we encourage them to reach out and tell us what’s on their minds—give us feedback, sing our praise, or just share a funny picture. Marijuana is a community with a long history. We want to be at the center of that community, so we welcome all contact with our canna-brethren and sistren.
