Willow Industries founder and CEO Jill Ellsworth learned first about the importance of a clean environment for consumables at Vibrant Earth Juices, a California-based cold-pressed organic juice company she founded in 2011. But after seeing the lack of health and safety standards in the cannabis industry, Ellsworth transitioned over to help operators provide cleaner and safer products to patients and customers alike.
“Yeast, mold and bacteria can be commonly found within the environment used to cultivate cannabis,” Ellsworth says, adding that molds such as Aspergillus, which affects the respiratory system once inhaled, are believed to be one of the highest risk contaminants. “This poses a particular health threat to immunocompromised individuals, including some medical cannabis users.”
Ellsworth founded Willow Industries in 2015. Her company’s WillowPure systems, which use patented, organic, ozone-based technology to break down harmful microbes living on cannabis, without affecting the medicinal properties of the plant, are being used by operators in 26 states, Canada and Australia. There is also a mobile service in Colorado and WillowPure Processing centers in California and Massachusetts.
Ellsworth serves on the Cannabis Health and Safety Advisory Committee for the City of Denver, is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the Cannabis Certification Council, and an author for a soon to be released ASTM International standard.