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Highlighted Members

Member Spotlight – June 14, 2018

So The Cannabis Alliance will have a booth at Hempfest! We are looking for
volunteers for August 17, 18 & 19 that is a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I have a
signup sheet in the back at the check in area. Please check it out and sign up. It is
a great way to meet a lot of wonderful people, learn more about our industry and
have a great time!

OK so now it is time for: The Cannabis Alliance Members Spotlight! We spotlight
two member each month so we can all get to know each other and learn about
each other’s businesses.

First up we have our New Member:

Skagit Organics

So is Matthew here from Skagit Organics today? Would you wave so
everyone knows where you are?

Skagit Organics a processor is owned by three individuals from Skagit
Valley that connected through medical cannabis and formed a
partnership with a focus on serving medical patients in the I-502
framework. They have built solid relationships with several producers
they source material to ensure the material they use is effective. Skagit
Organics is committed to providing the highest quality of customer
service to their retail partners and individual customers. They try to
reach their customers directly through vendor days and tours of their
facility so people can see the processes behind their products. Tours are
open to the public and are held on the 1 st Friday of each month.
Appointments can also be made outside those times for any interested
individuals in the cannabis industry.

Skagit Organics joined the Cannabis Alliance to connect better with
other individuals in the industry and to stay current and involved with
the i502 industry as it continues to grow. Matthew, who is here today is
taking the time to become more involved and is leading the public
outreach on behalf of his company.

Skagit Organics offers unique products and specializes in food grade
extraction. They make all of their oils exclusively with organic food
grade alcohol and they have gained a strong reputation among retailers
and medical customers as a quality, consistent provider of RSO, both
THC and CBD. They have recently expanded their oil line which now
includes Original, Gold, and Platinum oils under the RSO and Bud Topper
brands and now offer Fresh Press Rosin, which is pressed to order.
Beyond extractions they have a simple and effective topical line of
products including CannaLotion, CannaStick (lip balm), and Body Budder
and their flower products include the popular CannaCone pre-roll, 1
gram Dime Bag, 2 gram Twenty Sack, and 4 gram Forty Sack. To round
out their product catalog they offer infused joints and bud along with
their Honey Rocks, a great mix of keif and honey oil rolled together, all
of which are available in CBD as well. Checkout their website at
skagitorganics.net

Skagit Organics is also leading a group called Smoke Local this is
advocating for smaller producer/processors at the retail level partly
through cannabis maps of regional areas. Smoke Local has their first
map out which covers Skagit Valley and they are looking to expand to
Whatcom County, Spokane County and beyond. If you would like more information about how this program works you can speak with Matthew
later or email info@smokelocal.org or visit www.smokelocal.org.

Matthew Friedlander: 360.627.1555

Let’s give Skagit Organics a warm Alliance welcome!

Next we have our Long-term member: Dave Burns with StarCrisp Farms a producer/ processor:

Website: http://www.starcrisp.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DavidBurns13/

Is Dave with us today via live-stream from Star Crisp Farms?

StarCrip Farms was a producer/processor. David Burns, Principal of Star
Crisp Farms has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies
and has a deep commitment to sustainability and the environment. To
achieve these objectives everything about StarCrisp was
environmentally friendly and sustainable.

When Dave established StarCrisp Farms at the end of 2013 it was as a
hobby farm. The intent was to manage the farm for two years and to pay off his 5 acre property that he and his wife purchased as a vacation
property. They also hoped to make some extra money to provide opportunities for other life adventures.

It has been a many years now and Dave finished paying off the property
and had an adventure of a lifetime running the cannabis business. He
met many good people during the adventure and got an opportunity to
work closely with a number of organizations and volunteered on several
commissions spearheading the implementation of I-502 and taking the
Cannabis movement mainstream.

However, the business did not provided the financial income to justify
the significant amount of work it demanded and he found that other
pursuits need to take priority over his farm.

After reevaluating the market and his financial goals Dave made the
decision to sell his license and to retire from cannabis production
activity. He found a buyer and sold the licenses for production and
processing. This will essentially fulfil his personal financial goals and
provide him and his family more free time to pursue other life
adventures. He kept the StarCrisp business name so that at some time in
the future he could pursue another farming activity, such as fruit or
perhaps the production of tea. But, for now I am going to finish some of
the tasks he started with the Cannabis Alliance and phase out cannabis
activities for other pursuits.

Some of the highlights of the last few years and organizations and
efforts Dave had the opportunity to participate in include:

The Cannabis Alliance: Dave says: I am a member of the Cannabis
Alliance, a cannabis organization in the state that has the most clout. I
serve on two of its committees, the legislative committee and the
governmental committee. The Cannabis Alliance has a lobby’s, and
works with several key legislators that introduce and support our
proposed legislative amendments. The Cannabis Alliance also has a very
good relationship and the respect of the Liquor and Cannabis Board
(LCB), and the LCB listens very carefully to positions we take on
proposals coming out of the LCB. The Cannabis Alliance is and will
continue to be a major player in the cannabis movement as it plays out
in the state and when the movement goes global.

Other organizations Dave belongs to include The Cannabis Farmers
Council and he is working on efforts to establish a state Cannabis
Commission, he served on the State Building Code Council’s Cannabis
Technical Advisory Group. In addition he coordinated local Government
training programs about cannabis.  As a certified planner and a member
of the American Planning Association he had the opportunity to
organize and provide a conference work-session of regulation of the
cannabis industry.  He had the opportunity to advise over 60 local
government officials on how to regulate the cannabis industry
concerning land use and building issues.  The conference session was
well attended and received.  Based on his own personal experience with
his farm he used examples of Clallam County’s dysfunctional system as
what not to do.

Dave has this to say about the current cannabis wholesale market:

While the adventure of developing and running a cannabis farm was a
learning experience as well as fun and exciting it was very hard work
that did not have a commensurate amount of financial return in the
current market. In fact, the wholesale price of cannabis has dropped
state wide over the last few years until it is at a level that price will not
support the effort to produce high quality cannabis. You will not
generally see this at the retail level, as retailers are keeping their
product costs the same while paying the farmers less.

We wish Dave the very best in both retirement and new adventures.

Let’s give Dave Burns, Star Crisp Farms a warm thank you for his passion and
advocacy work!

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