Learn how your money moves across the cannabis supply chain

It’s easier than ever nowadays to visit Trove, pick up your bud, and be on your way. We don’t often think about all the people involved in the process that our weed took to get to us: the immense risk, farming families, unpredictable weather conditions, strict restrictions, and so much more. We wanted to give you an idea of a typical route that your cannabis can take and the people involved. Whether its our favorite strain at Trove or our favorite salsa at Trader Joe’s, it’s important for us to get to know the supply chain and how far our dollars go.

The cannabis supply chain can be categorized into five main parts: cultivation, extraction, testing, distribution, and retail.

Cultivation

Whether you are an indoor or outdoor grow, this is the stage where you are interacting with the plant the most. This is a popular area of the cannabis supply chain to work in. People are eager and interested to work closely with the plant, help to develop different strains and often learn about organic farming practices. Jobs at this stage can include: trimming, maintenance, engineering, plant breeder/geneticist, soil scientist, farm manager, accounting, account manager, and more!

Extraction

This is an area of the cannabis industry that is growing as restrictions begin to ease- slowly! During this stage, biologists and chemists study the compounds that are found within cannabis. Results from extraction experiments rapidly advance the cannabis industry by providing invaluable data surrounding potency, medicinal properties and potential, and toxicity.

Testing

Testing cannabis is not only important for discovering new insight, but it is also a government requirement. At this stage scientists look at the chemical makeup of cannabis products, report the THC and CBD breakdown, and identify present terpenes.

Distribution

Just like it sounds. Distribution jobs in the cannabis industry are just like those in most other industries. Cannabis distribution is often done by the growers themselves and sometimes by a third-party. These distributors will move the cannabis products from the testing sites to the processing plants, to the dispensaries.

Retail

You may or may not find this interesting, but dispensaries are the only businesses in the cannabis supply chain that are allowed a business-to-customer license. This is obviously the part of the supply chain that we find ourselves in – right before the bud leaves our store and into your door. We consider it an absolute privilege to be the last stop in the supply chain. It allows us to cultivate relationships in the industry and highlight products that we really believe in and can stand by.