O’Neill: Cannabis at the State Fair

Casey O’Neill is a farmer and owner of Happy Day Farms in Laytonville, Calif. The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mendocino Voice. If you’d like to write your own column for The Mendocino Voice, send your idea to info@mendovoice.com.

We returned late last night from Sacramento where we collected four medals for our cannabis. Avenue of the Giants bred by Twenty20 Mendocino won the gold for total terpenes, highest myrcene, and highest MCL. Strawberry Biscotti took bronze for highest total cannabinoids. We’re incredibly stoked to see our work recognized on the stage at the official California State Fair, and it felt good to see cannabis as a part of California heritage celebrated in much the same fashion as other crops for which the state is famous. 

We doubled up the trip with our usual Farmers Market Friday’s trip to the bay, enjoying our time at CBCB and Root’d in the 510, chatting with customers and selling the many goods that our farm produces. We’re learning a lot about logistics, planning, delegating and marketing, but some things are reminiscent of earlier days when we brought cannabis to the Prop 215 farmers markets along with the full complement of farm goods we love to represent. 

There was a time when we were able to bring herb to the 215 farmers markets, so now we say that since we can’t bring weed to farmers markets, we bring the farmers market to the weed. It’s nice to connect with customers over the full breadth of our efforts, communicating a clearer picture of what we do and what our farm represents. We’re excited by the slow and steady expansion of our CSA buyers club program as we learn the necessary lessons through the consistency of showing up each month. 

Next weekend we’ll be back on the road to bring Farmers Market Fridays to the Green Gold stores in San Andreas and Sonora, and then on to another round of connecting with folks at the State Fair where our Strawberry Biscotti and Blue Dream are available at the Redwood Roots booth. Big gratitude to Chris and the whole RwR team for working so hard to make it all happen, running a booth for 17 days is no joke, and we’re deeply appreciative of the opportunity to roll in and out as the farm allows while they hold it down and represent in the Sacramento heat. 

As we drove home late last night, brother Lito and I talked about what it feels like to connect with so many people in such a short time. We reckon we probably talked to well over 500 people in about a 30-hour period. It’s exhilarating and fun to represent our farm, and we treat sales like a game, seeing how many people we can connect with enough that they understand why our product is worth buying. We’re always glad to hear back from repeat customers about their experiences, and we’re especially enjoying fostering the connection between the food and the herb we produce. The interrelationship between food and medicine is integral and important, and we love closing the gap between the two and explicitly fostering understanding about the qualities of good weed and good food. 

When I look around the state fair cannabis area, I’m glad to see friendly and familiar faces, but I’m also deeply saddened by how many faces are unable to be there. Celebration and recognition of cannabis is indelibly linked to the hard-fought efforts of the many activists over the decades, and to the loss of so many farms and the economic hardships in rural communities after the regulatory rollout. I think back to the 2017 testimony I gave to the State Assembly about the likely fallout of regulation, warning them of what would happen to our North Coast economies if they didn’t change course, and I’m saddened by the way it all went. 

I think back to the hopeful optimism of those Prop 215 farmers markets more than a decade ago, and I think about what still has to happen for cannabis to be able to be sold at regular farmers markets. I spoke with a Department of Cannabis Control representative at the fair about that possibility, and I will continue to advocate for cannabis normalization for a plant that has so many medicinal and sociocultural benefits as a core part of the accepted human pharmacopeia. 

Sunday morning is for writing and reflecting, and I think about my years of growing food and herb, of the many connections we’ve made and the many journeys we’ve had. I think about our 15-year dream of cannabis serving as a fulcrum to help get food to people, and our goal of a curated monthly strain that comes along with the produce. Slowly but surely over the years, we have prototyped the different pieces of the model, getting closer to the goal with each step. There is still a long way to go, but I remain excited by the effort and my heart is gladdened by the joyful encounters with the people we get to meet along the path. As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!