Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/760410
7 4 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t The beautiful packaging and diverse strains of Prema Flora's line of artisan cannabis. ■cr A NEW GENERATION OF CONSCIENTIOUS cannabis growers has emerged from the Emerald Triangle, shaking the stalks of large commercial growers and embracing sustainable farming practices that extol quality over quantity and family farmers over corpo- rate cartels. The Emerald Triangle refers to the Northern Cali- fornia counties of Humboldt, Trinity and Mendocino, touted as the largest cannabis-producing region in the world. With estimated U.S. revenues of $40 billion annually, cannabis growers in the Land of Bud strive to grow the best-quality medicinal cannabis under real sunlight, planted in soil native to each region using permaculture-farming methods that replenish the earth with trimmings and compostable organic matter. Bringing this ethos to Southern California is the Em- erald Exchange, a cannabis farmer's market designed to connect Emerald Triangle growers with SoCal patients, dispensary operators and cannabis advocates, tapping into Los Angeles's status as the largest can- nabis consumer market in the country. Explains Chris Halmo, one of the creative forces behind the event, "The Emerald Exchange is about bringing the best of Northern California's cannabis culture to Southern California, and doing it in an approachable way that's part of the already existing farmer's market and farm to table food-driven culture," continues Halmo. "People are already familiar with a farmer's market, so to be able to bring cannabis into that space is an easy connection for someone to make if they're curi- ous about cannabis." With various stalls perched on private properties in Malibu, each Emerald Exchange does capture the farmer's market–meets–food-and- wine-festival atmosphere, with purveyors offering fresh-squeezed lemonade with a side of THC or CBD tinctures, cultivators offering tastes and smells of their perfectly cured flowers, or concentrates-makers offering samples of their wares. "It is important that we have a wide representation of what the modern day cannabis industry looks like, because we're still changing the perception of can- nabis among the general public," continues Halmo. Indeed, there's nary a bong in site; the Emerald Exchange veers more toward hipster than hippie, and each cultivator is quick to point out that their edibles are non-GMO and their cannabis is as organic as it can be (although as a federally-regulated program, Organic certification is not currently available to can- nabis producers). Indeed, the cultivators presenting at the Emerald Exchange practice small production and sustainable ethos—buzzwords we're accustomed to when talking about heirloom tomato growers and Organic mush- rooms and are increasingly becoming aware of in the cannabis space. Brands like Prema Flora are leading the way; out of Mendocino they represent a group of small producers under one label, and their packag- ing includes not only specifics of the farm where the cannabis was grown, but also terpene tasting notes and THC to CBD ratios. It's a lot like reading the back of a wine label. "The similarities between cannabis, food and wine cultivation are all there," explains Halmo. "And events like the Emerald Exchange are helping consumers and patients alike start thinking about cannabis in those terms. They're already at the farmer's market shopping for Organic, all-natural produce and ingredi- ents—why wouldn't they do that for cannabis?" The Wonderful Wizards of Mendocino THE EMERALD EXCHANGE IS THE CANNABIS FARMER'S MARKET YOU'VE DREAMED OF by Rachel Burkons & Dianne Porchia Growers and vendors gathered together in Malibu, CA for the high-end cannabis farmer's market Emerald Exchange. Humboldt-based Honeydew Farm shows off their wide variety of strains at a stall.