Living the Dream: Anthony Franciosi

So much about “living the dream” is making sure that the dream is here to stay. I wanted to build an environmentally friendly cannabis company from the ground up that had staying power. With that in mind, I’m always looking for what’s new to add to our unique offering as an organic grower/producer. Cannabis isn’t a huge industry, yet. But it will be and when it is, I want the Honest Marijuana Company to be in the best possible position to stand strong over time.

As with all newer industries, part of the challenge is the ongoing changes to regulations that affect us. Each local, state and eventually federal body that will be involved in making the rules has a habit of changing them, as and when they see fit. We have to be fluid to move with the times, always looking to new processes and technologies to make sure that we are well within the bounds of what’s allowed.

Ironically, when it came to packaging marijuana, what was old became new again.

Packaging regulations have changed since companies started boxing up and selling marijuana, in the late 1800s. Back then, companies like Parke Davis & Co. — now better known as a subsidiary of Pfizer — were using tin containers with airtight lids so as to prevent the marijuana from losing its potency because of humidity, light or air. Packaging evolved after that, from ceramic containers to mason jars to plastics. Today, we also have to make the packaging tamper-proof and child-proof, like any medication on the market. And for me, it was important that my philosophy of creating a sustainable, ecologically friendly, high-quality product be met in all aspects of production, including packaging.

The question of how to package marijuana in such a way as to keep it out of the sun, keep it safe from light and air, and yet still be ecologically friendly, as well as protect the kids without enormous costs, took a little thinking, but as it turned out, the earliest sellers of cannabis products had it right.

Unique in the industry today, we use food-grade tin with easy open ring-pull lids and a cap with a child-resistant feature to reseal the can. The tins keep the buds from being crushed and eliminate the risk of oxidation from air, as well as the damage produced from light and moisture. The cans and lids can be recycled and because we nitrogen-flush the marijuana during the lid-sealing process, the buds stay as fresh as when they were first processed. Old tech that works today!