Marijuana from a 350-thousand square foot Finger Lakes greenhouse will soon be sold downstate.
“We did (transported) about 500 lbs. of fresh-frozen material for live-resin vapes,” said Jeremy Jimenez, CEO of Honest Pharm, Co. “That’s geared toward more of the high-end products that will be coming to market within the next few weeks in the New York City area.”
The reason it’s not happening in our backyard, he said, is because of a pending lawsuit. Jimenez explained a Federal Judge put a hold on New York State issuing dispensary licenses in several areas, including the Finger Lakes.
So Jimenez drove a trailer full of marijuana down to the NYC area. But getting there wasn’t easy.
“Everything has to be weighed, tracked, and there’s a form you have to fill out with Office of Cannabis Management on the transport part of it” Jimenez said. “They have a manifest at the processor and everything has to align when we get there. So they know what they’re expecting and what we’re delivering. We have fresh-frozen material which means the flower comes directly off the plant. It gets frozen immediately. We have a cooler that gets down to -10 degrees, then we transport it with dry ice and other coolers. Then we have a dry aspect of it.”
Marijuana packaging final touches in progress
All together, he said 700 lbs. of marijuana was sent off in the last month for processing. Jimenez is now focused on the packaging of his product.
“I actually have a meeting with the packaging people tomorrow to dial in the OCM requirements for labeling,” he explained. “Some of it has to be renewable, recyclable material. So not only the text and everything that’s on it. We have to make sure the packaging itself is compliant.”
And it’s been a long road to get to where he is today.
“We’re almost to the finish line,” Jimenez said. “I’ve literally put my whole life on the line for this industry. I think what I’m going to do is drive to New York City just to see the product on the shelf. If I have to take a flight there just to see that, that’s what I’ll have to do.”
Rebecca is a veteran multimedia journalist serving as one of our core reporters in the Finger Lakes region. She is responsible for telling stories that matter to every day Upstate New Yorkers. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].