The stigmas around cannabis never made sense to Flow Kana CEO and co-founder Michael Steinmetz, who as a child, learned about the plant’s medicinal benefits from his mother. In fact, the myths about marijuana only fueled his passion for change.
“I’ve been a passionate advocate for cannabis for a long time,” Steinmetz says. “Because I was exposed to cannabis in the right light from day one, I want to be part of preserving that and helping others see it in that way too.”
His company is now one of the largest distributors in California and helps to keep cannabis in a positive light by promoting responsible farming and business practices.
“At Flow Kana, we promised to never cultivate directly, but instead distribute and source from the small farms and communities that have been cultivating this plant for generations,” Steinmetz says. “What we’ve seen in other states is the default vertical integration, but we have built a model that builds a healthy supply chain, while also supporting and serving the small farmers and the legacy that they have been cultivating for decades.”
In February, Flow Kana completed a $125 million round of financing, bringing the company’s total amount of capital raised to $175 million. In addition to helping fund the company’s next venture into manufacturing, Steinmetz says the money will also be used to continue its mission of supporting local and sustainable cannabis farms.
“This is a huge milestone for us as this capital allows us to continue to expand and support the partner farms we work with, expanding our sourcing to more and more farms who need a path to market,” he says. “Flow Kana will continue to source all cannabis inputs from the independent, sungrown farms in Northern California — namely Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties — and are so excited to provide more paths to market for their product.”