I recently had a chance to spend some time with Joey Douglas, co-owner of Brattleboro’s High Priestess, to find out how the legal craft cannabis industry in Vermont was going so far.
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Tell us about High Priestess… How did you decide to become a grower, and what was it like getting an official state license to go into business?
I originally started growing around 2001 and was instantly hooked on the entire process. The results of my first harvest were overwhelmingly great despite my inexperience.
Around 2005 several close calls convinced me to stop cultivating to focus on my relationship with Cindy and career in IT.
We moved to Vermont in 2021 looking for a change of pace. Both of us had polished careers in the tech industry but we were looking to transition into something new. We had been growing in our basement for awhile and as the recreational market came online, it became clear to me that this was something we wanted to be a part of so we started researching licensing and looking for available commercial real estate large enough for a Tier 2 cultivation.
After some initial planning, things were put on hold due to the death of my father. A year later we decided the time was right and that we could contribute positively to the local industry so we began the licensing process. The year of contemplation led us to scale back our initial plans and to seek a Tier 1 cultivation license and to grow here at our house.
Getting the license wasn’t terribly difficult, just tedious. Banking and insurance options were slim and often the rates were predatory. The Cannabis Control Board and the town of Brattleboro were very helpful though.
How is High Priestess set-up? You need a variety of spaces for a variety of purposes, right?
We have a veg room for mothers and clones. All plants start here before being moved into one of the two flower rooms. The plants remain in the flowering rooms for around 80 days before they’re harvested and moved to the drying room. From there the buds are trimmed and packaged or made into pre-rolls.
Many growers keep mother plants of their favorite strains, then take clones from them and plant them in dirt to get things started. But you’ll be trying something different soon. Can you explain?
We’ve been exploring options for propagating cannabis strains in tissue culture. This process would allow us to store hundreds of tiny plantlets in a compact space and preserve strains with minimal resources and labor.
How do you choose what strains to grow?
We’re constantly sampling different strains and typically choose based on a combination of effects and smell. The buzz is the ultimate determining factor but the aroma has to be prominent. When someone cracks one of our jars we want everyone in the vicinity to know about it.
After the plants reach a certain size, you move them, replant them, tag them with official tracking numbers, and change the lighting to get them to produce flowers. But there is much more going on in your flower room, and you are continually monitoring many things. What’s this stage of the growing process like for you?
Flowering is where the magic becomes apparent. Walk into a room full of pretty buds and you naturally find yourself smiling. It never gets old.
How do you know when it is ready to harvest?
We harvest based on trichome coloration. Clear trichome heads indicate a lack of cannabinoids in unripe flowers. As they mature, the trichomes become cloudy and white as the psychoactive compounds accumulate. Eventually these compounds degrade into an amber color. Each strain is slightly different but generally we harvest when 25% of the trichomes have reached the amber coloration. This ensures that the majority of trichomes are cloudy and that potency and aroma are at their peak.
At some point you have to send samples to be tested and approved. How does that work?
Per state law, everything is tested for potency, terpenes, pesticides, and microbial contaminants. This is required for every strain after each harvest.
Potency results make or break a harvest. If the flower tests below 20% THC then it’s harder to sell even though the quality could be amazing. There’s a misconception that higher testing cannabis is better and this simply is not the case. Also, we’ve seen a 5% swing in THC percentage from buds that come from the same plant.
How did you learn to grow?
Due to prohibition, everything I originally learned was from online forums.
What would you like to know more about?
Different strains have different cannabinoids and terpenes. I’m keenly interested in knowing how these components in different amounts produce different effects.
Do local growers share knowledge with one another?
Absolutely. High Priestess hosts a meetup every other month that’s open to anyone in the industry or those potentially interested in getting into the cannabis space. The attendees are primarily cultivators and everyone shares their experiences and helps each other out.
How’s your relationship with retailers?
We have a small group of retailers that love us and we’re so grateful for that. Being as small as we are, we don’t have products ready to go when retailers need it. We want our small batches to hit the shelves quickly so that consumers get the freshest products possible. This isn’t always in line with dispensary buying procedures so we appreciate those that support us.
Any worries about federal interference in Vermont’s legal cannabis industry?
At a craft level, we’re not overly concerned. We’ve seen what markets in other states are like and expect federal legalization to drive prices down even further but there will always be room for boutique products.
Other than work, what keeps you interested and active?
Family. Friends. Gardening. Crafts. Technology. History. Breeding. Local politics. Kayaking. We don’t get bored!
Thanks for spending time with iBrattleboro.com
Thank you Chris!
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You can find out more about High Priestess at highpriestessvt.com
You can find their products nearby at the Vermont Bud Barn in West Brattleboro or Ratu’s Cannabis Supply in Wilmington.
