Awards Won: World’s Greatest Dad (2018), Husband of the year (2012)
Facebook: corneracredispensary
Instagram: @nineteenpinescannabis; @corneracredispensary; @lilkannys
Website: www.nineteenpines.com; www.corneracredispensary.com

Your Journey

How did you first get started with cultivation, and what keeps you motivated today?
Back when I was like 13 or 14 years old, my neighbor told me about some weed he found growing out back of his house. Well of course, being the curious kid I was, I had to go check it out for myself. And sure enough, he was right.  A buddy of mine and I chopped down full plants, as much as we could carry, and went running back to my place with it. We didn’t know it at the time, but all we had on our hands were a bunch of immature hemp plants. You could say, the fuse was lit from that point though.

These days, I am more focused on the medicinal benefits of plants. My life’s journey has me battling a rare form of cancer, so I am constantly looking for some sort of relief. And since my symptoms are ever changing, so are the strains that I target. Doing this for myself certainly helps me provide guidance for others as well. And I truly enjoy hearing feedback from customers telling me the strain I suggested gave them exactly what they were looking for. It definitely keeps me growing!

What’s been the most rewarding moment in your grower journey so far?
I’ve always been a “word of mouth” kind of guy. I am not out there boasting or bragging about anything I’ve done in my life. So, when I received a phone call from “Jerry,” Ice Cube’s manager, I was a bit surprised. Cube was in town for a show and had nothing to pre-game with. His entire team was at a bar the night before and were talking about “good weed” and how they needed some for their next show. The General Manager of this bar, who is my daughter, simply told them they should call me, and they did.

We showed up in the parking lot of the hotel they were staying at, and there was an entire crew outside waiting for us. I gave “Jerry” a bag of treats and proceeded to watch the entire crew load up on the bus.During the show, we were catching whiffs of the gifts as they burned them throughout their set. We got to meet Cube after the show and hearing him say “that sh*t got me lit” put a huge smile on my face.

Your Craft

Which cultivars or traits do you get the most excited about working with?
Whoa, this is a hard question! I mean, I like growing everything. But if I am being true to myself, I always favor dense, chunky nugs on an anchor shaped tree. There is just something majestic about seeing the plant sway with weight just by lightly bumping one cola. But there is some awesome work coming out of a bunch of newer breeders as well. Tons of awesome hash plants with insane terps. Folks like Alebrije Genetics, Fruitfull Seeds, Bloom Seed Co or Umami Seed Co. These guys are all pressing the envelope. Although hash plants don’t tickle my fancy as much as chunky buds do, the terps are enough to get any rosin fan excited. I was fortunate enough to hook up with some of these guys in Denver earlier this month for Secret Stash. I am still drooling over some of the rosin I was blessed to receive and stoked to pop some new washer beans.

What’s one tip, technique, or philosophy that defines your cultivation style?
Ha. Yeah, everyone that knows me knows I am a helicopter parent. I love my garden and split my chores into shifts throughout the day, just to spend more time with the girls. To me, I simply call it love. I give my girls love from the moment the seed/cut hits the substrate. I do all the weird things most growers question. I use electroculture techniques; my plants listen to music 24/7 and I am hands-on with them daily. I have literally had customers tell me “I can taste love in your weed.” Honestly, this just makes my heart sing.

Cannabis & You

How has cannabis impacted your life or perspective in a meaningful way?
I’ve been involved with cannabis in one way or another, for over 30 years. Early on, I was simply a consumer. Then I became part of the black-market distribution network. And cultivation came naturally along the way. Eventually, I stepped away entirely for a few years as I tried to raise my children. I thought I needed to conform to societal norms or something, so I refrained from consuming almost entirely. I reserved consumption for my coveted hunting trips in the fall.

I’ve long said cannabis was my medicine, and in 2023, that became official. I was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. In short, I have Carcinoid Syndrome.  The symptoms are not pleasant, and cannabis has literally saved my life by enabling me to just be able eat food most days. Just using my small experience as an example, it just still baffles me why this plant continues to get demonized.

Fast forward to today, and I have quit my corporate job to start several cannabis businesses, including our exclusive branded product Nineteen Pines cannabis grown onsite to our dispensary. I went from being a senior leader in technology to a cannabis business owner and operator, and I couldn’t be happier. I get to work every day alongside my best friend and wife of 20 years. We will grow, package and sell cannabis along the roadside, just like the sweetcorn farmers!

Innovation & Tools

What trend in cannabis right now do you find most exciting (or most concerning)?
There is a lot to be excited about in the cannabis industry right now. More markets are coming online, and with this, more innovation. As we prepare to launch our new businesses here in Minnesota, I think what excites me most is the focus on craft cannabis. I’ve been following the local scene, and there are a lot of people complaining about the quality and/or the pricing of the cannabis that is available to them today. Us Minnesotan’s are a little snobby and prideful about our locally brewed beer. I anticipate a similar vibe for cannabis. Boutique outfits with high quality, ethically grown cannabis will help differentiate Minnesota as a destination state for high quality cannabis!

In addition to starting our own cannabis companies, which I am clearly stoked about, working with Trawa (trawamn.com) one of Minnesota’s largest commercial cultivators, is definitely an incredible opportunity and very exciting for me as well. By working with them I’ll be able to bring my passion for exceptional cannabis to a much larger facility, helping serve even more Minnesotan’s with superb product. The folks over at Trawa have treated my wife and I Iike family since day one. Seriously a great group of individuals, and I couldn’t be happier to be working with them.

Beyond the Cool Cure, do you have a favorite piece of equipment you swear by?
Whoa!  This is a lightening rod question! Hahahaha. I mean, for residential growers, there is some cool and relatively affordable gear out there now that make it easier to get into growing on your own. AC Infinity really has some nice kits for growing your own. Trim Bag has a neat and simple solution for trimming product, again, more geared towards your residential grower. For me though, I don’t think there has been anything as revolutionary as the Cool Cure technology that I would swear by. And no, I am not paid to say that. I mean it. That’s why I own several of the smaller units today and plan to expand into a fully controlled room within our facility.

How has the Cannatrol Cool Cure changed your post-harvest process and results?
Night and day difference. I used to chop and hang in tents. The entire time, fighting with the climate of the tents, which means impacting the climate of the entire building. The part that really peeved me was that I was using my tent…meaning I couldn’t be growing. And honestly, drying and curing isn’t all that exciting to me. Rather, it wasn’t all that exciting to me. But now with the Cannatrol, the amount of flexibility is through the roof! Much like cultivators have endless possibilities on how they grow, and each is a personalized experience, the same applies to drying and curing now! Each cultivator can experiment with the settings to get things dialed in exactly how they like them. In most cases, it’s probably the default settings. But if you are a connoisseur, you may find tweaking the settings yields even greater flexibility in personalizing your craft. That’s what I have done with my Cannatrols.  And the impact? I’ve asked friends and family what it is that keeps them coming back when they have other options.  The short answers, the freshness and the flavor stand out, every time. People can literally taste the difference! I personally credit both flavor and freshness preservation to the Cool Cure technology! So much so that we plan to use them for our cannabis grown onsite to provide deli-style serving. This will help ensure the quality and terps are superior for our consumers.

Community & Legacy

What advice would you give to someone just starting their first grow?
Patience. It’s crazy really. We all hear things like “it’s a weed” and “they can drink gallons of water” and all sorts of random things. And people are not necessarily wrong, but the reality is you need to be in tune with your plants, especially when you are first starting out. But it needs to also be scientific. Like, don’t leave things to chance, or to gut feel. Measure out the amount of water you are hand feeding them when they are young. Record it. Only feed them enough for a day. Record how much water they consume each day. Do this for the entire grow and you will start to establish a good foundation to build upon.

Getting into even more details. Go look up the cultivar you plan on growing on GrowDiaries or Reddit or other online forums that are similar. Learn what others are saying. The more similar to your scenario, the better for comparison purposes. Again, make it scientific.

What makes a great grower stand out from a good one?
I am not sure I am qualified to answer this! I guess if I had to say, I would lean towards someone who is always willing to learn more, try new and different things and constantly refine the craft. It isn’t about producing the biggest yields, or the craziest terps, or the frostiest nugz. To me, it should be more about honoring the plant, and that is best achieved through tender love and care of each and every plant. Maybe what I am suggesting is that if people can “taste the love” you’re on the right track.