This weekend, we attended the GrowX Conference in the heart of Silicon Valley. This conference was for the growers and showcased many new advances in modern grow technology. The individual seminars were very “Medicine Man” heavy. Medicine Man is an advisory group with a number of operations and dispensaries in Colorado. The speakers spent a lot of time discussing the new California Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MCRSA) and Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), as compared to the Colorado regulations.
Cannabis cultivation is a place where art and science collide, and you need both to produce a quality result. Being an attorney at the event, I was definitely a fish out of water; however, the growers, biochemists, and various product representatives were happy to enlighten me on the science behind their product lines. I didn’t have a clue of the intricacies involved in growing a single plant.
In growing a single plant, a cultivator must consider the root system, vascular system, leaf, flower, soil type, occurrence of phosphate, air purity, humidity, heat, type of light, water flow, pesticides, and symbiosis. The most difficult part for me was accepting that some of the exhibitors did not really understand the science behind their product and how it relates specifically to cannabis.
Some of the standouts at the conference were: Growth Science out of Northern California; Sipco Bioengineering from British Columbia; Via Terra for their mycorrhizal innoculants; Heavy 16 out of Long Beach for quality soil; and Budmaster LEDs from Jolly Old in the UK.