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As New York’s legal cannabis industry lifts off, licensed operators in the sector are staring down the barrel of daunting headwinds like strict regulations, high taxes and competition from the unregulated market.
But for green-thumbed weed entrepreneurs looking to enter the industry without some of the regulatory hurdles and risk associated with plant-touching businesses, some are finding business opportunities in a counterintuitive space: home growing.
“We have seen explosive growth among home growers, no question about that,” said Jane Sandelman, CEO of Vermont-based Cannatrol, which makes technologies for drying and curing cannabis. “As the market grows and more and more states become legal for home grow, we’re seeing more and more demand.”
At least 22 states have medical cannabis programs that allow for home grow, and at least 17 states – including New York – include home growing in their adult-use programs, according to NORML.
A 2022 study on home growing by New Frontier Data, an analytics firm that tracks the legal cannabis industry, suggests the number of people giving self cultivation a shot is rising, and will likely continue its upward trajectory.
New Frontier estimates that home cultivators across the U.S. produced about 11 million pounds of dried flower in 2022 – more than 13 times Colorado’s legal flower market. The report predicts these home farmers will grow about 15 million pounds in 2030. New Frontier found about 3 million people – or about 6% of U.S. cannabis customers – grew cannabis at home in 2022, and researchers believe that will rise to 4.1 million by 2030.
“The expansion of legal cannabis in the U.S. has ushered in a new era of opportunity for home cultivation, with participation rates higher in fully legal markets,” New Frontier’s report said. “The scale of the homegrow market’s output underscores the important additive role that residential cultivation plays in the national cannabis supply.”
Some large legal weed companies have pushed to ban home growing, but others are seeing opportunity in the growing number of amateurs interested in cultivation. Curtis Jackson, owner and founder of The Helping Center (T.H.C.) In Norwalk, Conn., has been doing home cultivation consulting since home growing became legal in his state in 2021.
Jackson began growing weed over 20 years ago – partly to treat injuries he sustained during his career as a professional BMX racer – and now offers a slate of services to home growers that range from sourcing genetics to installing a grow operation in clients’ homes.
Jackson’s clients range from people in their 20s to a few customers in their 80s, he said. About 70% are recreational growers and about 30% are medical patients. He offers a startup kit that includes lighting, clones and other home grow necessities, and has installed systems for everything from small 100-square-foot closet setups to 70,000-square-foot operations, he said.
“Once Connecticut went home grow … the law was in our favor to now go out and say, ‘hey, if you have a small batch, let us help you get the best results possible,’” Jackson said. “Right now, we see that there’s a growing number of people who want to grow themselves. There’s a bigger number than I’ve ever seen.”
Cannatrol CEO Sandelman has also noticed that home growers seem to come from all walks of life, and that most of them are passionate about the plant. Sandelman and her husband/COO David Sandelman originally designed their drying and curing technology for artisan cheese and cured meats, she said. But after the two realized they could use it to cure and store homegrown weed, they launched Cannatrol in 2019.
Their customers’ skill levels run the gamut from beginners to seasoned cultivators. But even people who have grown for decades are often in the market for advice on curing, Sandelman said. It seems that’s partly because cannabis prohibition has made it difficult over the years for growers to get genuine scientific information for best growing practices, and have had to rely on “bro science” tips from people who may or may not know what they’re talking about.
“People are hungry for real science, they wanna know how things work, how to make their grows better and how to use technology,” Sandelman said. Additionally, “they want new things, they want new toys.”
Sandelman and Jackson both believe there are significant business opportunities in the home grow space for knowledgeable cannabis cultivators, especially those interested in selling home cultivation infrastructure, advising customers on their setups and techniques and sourcing genetics.
“It’s a pretty good business,” Jackson said. “A Lot of people just don’t know simple practices, and it’s not only about passion – it’s great that you have it – you need discipline more than anything to have success in cultivation.”